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LO-TOKAH. 


I   sped   away  over  the   brown   sands  in    pursuit  of  the  woman." 


LO-TO-KAH 


BY 


VERNER  Z.  REED 


ILLUSTRATED    BY      ' 

CHARLES  CRAIG  AND  L.  MAYNARD  DIXON 


MDCCCXCVII 

CONTINENTAL  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK   AND  LONDON 


Copyright  1897 
by 

co. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 
I. 

Lo-To-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED,     ....     15 

ii. 

THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLEDAD,       .     .     37 
in. 

LO-TO-KAH    AND    THE    GOLDEN    WOMAN,       .        73 

IV. 

Lo-To-KAH    AND   THE    WlTCH,       .       .       .       .113 
V. 

THE  DEATH  OF  Lo-To-KAH,      .     .     .     .171 

VI. 

THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH, 201 


TO 
CLARENCE  CLARK   HAMLIN. 


PREFACE. 

THE  six  tales  that  make  up  this  little  book  were 
composed  hastily,  and  at  long  intervals,  and  all 
of  them  were  written  in  the  scant  leisure  that  falls 
to  the  lot  of  a  busy  man  of  business.  This  may,  in 
part,  account  for  their  imperfections. 

The  supernatural  is  taken  into  account,  to  a  great 
extent,  because  it  is  taken  into  account  in  the  lives 
of  the  Indians.  I  hope  to  have  the  leisure  and  good 
fortune,  at  a  later  time,  to  study  and  treat  fully  of 
the  religion  of  the  Ute  Indians,  but  for  the  pur- 
pose of  explaining  the  mystical  references  in  these 
stories,  it  will  suffice  to  say  that  some  of  the  Utes 
believe  in  the  re-incarnation  of  the  soul,  in  the 
power  to  send  the  spirit  (they  do  not  know  the 
term  "  Astral  body  " )  away  from  the  physical  body, 
and  in  the  possibility  of  holding  communion  with 
the  spirits  of  the  dead.  However,  I  have  not 
attempted  to  confine  myself  to  their  literal  beliefs. 

These  stories  are  published  in  the  hope  that  they 
will  serve  to  amuse  the  limited  number  of  people 
who  may  read  them.  If  they  serve  no  other  pur- 
pose than  to  introduce  the  pictures  of  I/.  Maynard 
Dixon  and  Charles  Craig  in  new  fields,  the  writer 
believes  that  they  will  not  have  been  published  in 
vain. 


LO-TO-KAH  THE  UNCIVILIZED. 


I  HAD  known  old  Lo-To-Kah  a  month.  Dur- 
ing that  time  the  old  man  had  "  made  medi- 
cine "  over  me,  and  discovered  that,  according 
to  Indian  ideas,  it  was  safe  to  trust  me  as  a 
friend.  We  had  ridden  over  the  mesas  and 
plains,  had  eaten  together,  had  exchanged 
presents,  and  had  become  better  acquainted 
than  most  men  do  in  a  year. 

One  day  we  had  ridden  about  twenty  miles 
to  see  an  old  Indian  who  was  dying  of  pneu- 
monia. On  the  return  journey  we  stopped 
under  a  clump  of  pinons,  ate  a  lunch  of  jerked 
beef,  and  after  eating  were  lolling  back  on  a 
blanket  that  the  old  man  had  unstrapped  from 
his  saddle.  While  we  were  lazily  smoking 

15 


jg  LO-TO-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED. 

and  looking  up  at  the  blue  Colorado  sky,  my 
companion  became  more  communicative  than 
was  usual  for  him.  He  told  me  of  the  Ute 
belief  in  Chah-now-woof,  the  Great  Spirit,  and 
he  explained  in  detail  the  mysteries  and  cere- 
monies of  one  of  the  dances  of  his  people. 
He  recounted  various  adventures  he  had  met 
with  while  journeying  to  the  dances  and  festi- 
vals of  the  tribes  who  dwelt  in  various  parts 

•  pf  the  Southwest,  all  of  whom  he  had  visited. 

•  1   then-'  a'sfced'.him   to  tell   me    an   old-time 
: talje. of -liis  people; 'and  the  tale  he  told  me  is 
'writte'n  here  Iii'his-own  words  : — 

I  could  tell  you  many  tales  of  the  things 
that  have  been  in  the  thirty  years  since  I  first 
learned  the  English  speech,  or  I  could  tell 
you  many  tales  of  the  things  that  have  been 
in  the  more  than  fifty  years  since  I  first 
learned  the  Spanish  speech  from  the  Mexi- 
can people ;  but  I  will  tell  you  instead  of 
these,  a  tale  of  a  time  long  ago,  when  I  could 
speak  no  speech  but  that  of  my  own  people 
and  of  the  people  of  the  Navajos.  It  is  a 
tale  of  many  words,  and  it  takes  me  far  back 
into  the  time  of  the  past — the  time  when 
the  white-skinned  people  had  not  yet  driven 
the  Indians  from  the  lands  that  were  given 
them  by  the  Great  Spirit.  And  when  I  have 


LO-TO-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED.  17 

told  you,  then  you  will  know  a  stranger  tale 
than  is  known  in  the  city  where  you  dwell. 
For  I  have  been  among  the  people  of  your 
race,  and  they  know  no  tales  but  those  of  win- 
ning gold,  or  of  weak  love  that  would  faint  and 
cry  out  at  the  sight  of  blood. 

When  I  was  a  young  man,  I  was  a  mighty 
hunter,  and  in  the  wars  with  the  enemies  of 
my  tribe  I  was  the  bravest  of  all  the  young 
warriors.  I  could  shoot  an  arrow  straighter 
than  an  eagle  can  fly ;  I  could  throw  a  stone 
with  as  much  force  as  your  gun  can  speed 
a  bullet,  and  no  arm  was  stronger  than 
mine  in  wielding  the  stone-shod  battle-clubs 
of  my  people.  I  know  not  how  I  came  to 
be  so  strong  and  so  mighty  among  men  ;  for 
my  father  was  but  a  weak  man,  who  was  so 
little  liked  that  he  was  called  the  woman- 
man.  Because  my  father  was  despised,  I  too 
was  despised  when  a  boy.  But  strength  is 
respected  among  people  like  mine,  and  while 
I  was  yet  a  youth  it  came  to  be  said  that  I 
was  not  my  father's  son,  for  with  single  blows 
I  almost  broke  the  heads  of  those  who  cast 
their  gibes  upon  me.  I  am  old  now  and  my 
face  is  wrinkled,  and  I  seem  not  to  have  the 
strength  of  a  child,  but  there  were  times  in 
the  past  when  I  fought  such  fights  as  the  white 


jg  LO-TO-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED. 

men  never  know.  And  there  was  a  time,  too, 
when  the  fairest  woman  that  ever  lived  lay  in 
my  arms — and  that  was  worth  more  to  me  than 
all  the  battles  I  ever  won. 

I  was  twenty-two  years  old  when  the  chief  of 
my  tribe  called  me  to  his  wickeup  and  told  me 
he  had  chosen  me  to  go  to  the  land  of  the 
Navajos  to  arrange  for  a  great  spirit-dance 
that  the  two  tribes  were  to  celebrate  together. 
It  was  a  great  honor  for  so  young  a  man  as  I, 
and  I  went  forth  with  my  heart  full  of  gladness. 
I  liked  the  Navajos  but  little ;  I  knew  them  to 
be  as  false  as  snakes  and  that  they  would  kill 
men  whose  backs  were  turned,  but  our  tribes 
were  then  at  peace,  and  I  knew  too  that  the 
fame  of  my  courage  had  gone  forth  even  as  far  as 
their  land,  so  I  set  out  alone  and  was  not  afraid. 
It  was  ten  days'  ride  to  the  land  of  the  Navajos 
— ten  weary  days,  across  dead  plains,  brown 
mesas  and  dry  arrqyos — and  in  those  ten  long 
days  I  did  not  meet  a  man  of  any  tribe. 

The  chief  of  the  Navajos  was  kind  in  his 
greeting  to  me ;  he  accepted  the  presents  I  bore 
to  him,  and  he  told  me  of  presents  of  belts 
and  blankets  that  he  would  send  in  return  to 
the  chief  of  my  tribe.  I  never  bore  those  pres- 
ents to  my  chief,  and  the  scalp  of  that  Navajo 
chief  is  one  of  the  things  I  shall  pass  down  to 


LO-TO-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED.  jg 

the  children  of  my  children  to  remind  them  of 
my  battles  in  the  olden  time. 

In  the  camp  of  the  Navajos,  I  learned  that 
preparations  were  being  made  to  kill  a  woman 
for  the  crime  of  being  a  witch,  the  charge  being 
made  by  a  man  who  had  sought  her  love  in 
vain.  I  thought  little  of  the  matter  when  it 
first  came  to  my  ears,  for  of  all  evil  things 
witchcraft  is  most  evil ;  and  anyhow,  a  Navajo 
woman  is  but  a  crow.  But  when  the  time  came 
for  the  woman  to  be  killed  I  went  to  the  plains 
with  the  people,  as  the  spectacle  was  to  be  a 
great  one.  The  people  seemed  to  rejoice  that 
the  woman  was  to  be  killed,  and  to  be  glad 
that  the  severest  punishment  had  been  chosen 
for  her  ;  and  among  them  all,  she  did  not  have 
one  friend.  I  know  now  that  the  men  rejoiced 
because  they  longed  for  her  in  vain,  and  that 
the  women  rejoiced  because  they  were  jealous 
of  the  doomed  woman's  beauty. 

The  chiefs  came  in  their  feathers  and  the 
warriors  in  their  paint,  while  the  women,  who 
are  always  mean  and  of  little  souls,  gibed  one 
to  the  other  and  were  glad  that  the  hated 
woman  was  to  die.  There,  too,  was  the  hus- 
band of  the  woman,  and  also  the  man  who  had 
loved  her  and  had  charged  her  with  sin  when 
she  had  repulsed  him.  The  husband  was  a 


20  LO-TO-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED. 

dull-looking  man,  with  the  face  of  a  brute,  and 
the  lover  was  a  proud  man,  who  spread  his 
blanket  and  strutted  as  though  glad  to  vent 
his  spite  by  having  a  woman  killed.  I  liked 
not  that  man  when  I  saw  him  first,  and  when 
he  passed  near  me,  I  raised  my  club  as  though 
I  would  strike  him.  Such  a  thing  done  by  a 
stranger  in  my  tribe  would  have  fared  badly 
with  the  stranger;  but  that  man  quailed  and 
slunk  away,  and  I  knew  him  to  be  a  coward — 
a  man  of  no  bravery,  and  not  a  fit  man  to  gain 
the  love  of  even  a  woman  of  the  Navajos. 

The  chiefs  and  the  old  men  of  the  tribe  had 
decreed  that  the  woman  should  be  torn  apart 
by  wild  horses.  That  was  one  of  the  laws  of 
the  olden  time ;  but  it  is  little  known  now, 
since  the  white  soldiers  ride  so  much  over  the 
land  that  was  once  the  land  of  the  Indians.  I 
had  seen  that  punishment  meted  out  before  ; 
but  never  did  I  see  such  wild  horses,  nor  those 
that  were  so  beautiful  as  the  ones  the  Navajos 
had  chosen.  The  people  arrayed  themselves 
in  lines,  and  a  stalwart  chief  led  forth  the 
horses.  One  was  as  black  as  the  darkness  of 
night,  and  the  other  was  as  white  as  the  whitest 
clouds  of  summer.  When  the  horses  were 
ready  and  strong  men  were  holding  their  heads, 
while  other  men  stood  ready  with  the  whips, 


LO-TO-KAH,   THE  UNCIVILIZED.  2I 

the  woman  was  brought  forth  from  the  hogan 
where  she  had  been  kept. 

Among  the  white-faced  people  it  is  likely 
that  you  have  seen  women  of  great  beauty ; 
but  I  say  to  you  that  never,  in  all  your  life, 
have  your  eyes  rested  upon  a  woman  so  fair 
as  was  that  doomed  woman  of  the  Navajos. 
She  was  brought  forth  all  unclad,  and  her 
beauty  shone  upon  me  as  the  sun  shines  upon 
the  earth  after  a  storm.  Her  form  was  the  form 
of  a  goddess,  and  her  eyes  shone  like  the 
brightest  stars  of  the  night.  Her  hair  fell  to 
her  knees  and  was  as  soft  as  the  hair  of  an 
otter.  When  I  first  looked  upon  her  I  be- 
lieved her  to  be  no  witch,  and  that  the  blood 
that  flowed  in  her  veins  was  not  the  blood  of 
the  brute  Navajos,  and  my  heart  warmed  to 
that  woman  in  a  great  love.  I  learned  in  time 
that  she  was  not  aNavajo,  but  had  been  stolen 
from  another  tribe  when  she  was  a  child.  She 
walked  forth  as  a  queen  might  walk  among 
slaves,  and  the  soulless  man  who  had  sought 
her  love  in  vain  lowered  his  eyes  to  the  ground 
and  slunk  back  like  a  dog  that  had  been  kicked. 
The  woman  saw  me  and  knew  me  to  be  a 
stranger.  She  saw,  too,  that  upon  my  face  there 
was  a  look  of  love  for  her.  She  stretched  out 
her  arms  to  me,  and  begged  me  to  save  her 


22  LO-TO-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED. 

from  the  brutes  who  would  murder  her ;  and 
though  I  was  a  stranger,  alone,  and  in  a  far 
land,  I  raised  my  club  that  was  heavy  with 
flint  and  commanded  the  chief  to  free  her. 
Before  I  could  do  more  I  was  pinioned  from 
behind  by  the  arms  of  a  dozen  Navajo  cowards, 
thongs  were  placed  about  my  hands  and  feet, 
and  I  was  thrown  to  the  ground.  The  people 
then  turned  from  me,  and  all  their  interest  was 
centered  in  the  spectacle  before  them.  I  began 
biting  the  thongs  with  my  teeth,  but  it  seemed 
that  it  was  not  possible  for  me  to  get  free  before 
the  horses  would  be  started  on  the  mad  race  that 
would  bring  death  to  the  most  beautiful  woman 
who  ever  walked  upon  the  earth.  Before  they 
bound  the  woman  to  the  horses  she  turned  to  me 
and  told  me  I  was  a  brave  man,  and  then  she 
knelt  upon  her  knees  and  said  words  to  the 
sky.  Then  strong  men  bound  ropes  of  hair 
to  her  arms  and  to  her  legs,  and  fastened  the 
ropes  to  the  tails  of  the  wild  horses.  It  was  a 
cruel  sight  to  see  that  fair  woman,  that  sweet, 
tender  woman,  bound  to  wild  beasts  that  would 
race  away  and  tear  her  beautiful  limbs  one  from 
the  other.  As  they  bound  her  I  was  almost 
mad  with  rage  and  grief ;  but  my  thongs  held 
me,  and  I  could  not  free  myself  to  lend  her 
aid.  As  I  lay  there,  impotently  biting  the 


LO-TO-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED.  33 

thongs  that  cut  into  my  flesh,  I  made  memory 
of  the  men  who  bound  her,  and  I  afterwards 
killed  them  and  laughed  in  their  writhing  faces 
as  they  died. 

At  last  the  woman  was  bound,  the  horses 
reared  and  thirsted  to  be  away,  and  were  held 
in  check  only  by  the  strength  of  many  hands,  and 
then  the  woman  turned  to  me  and  called  out  : 
"  Farewell  to  you,  O  brave  stranger  of  unknown 
blood !  I  thank  you  for  the  aid  you  would 
have  given  me,  and  I  grieve  that  you  have 
brought  suffering  upon  yourself  for  me;  for 
these  dogs,  these  snakes  who  are  cowards  and 
worse  than  dogs,  will  kill  you  when  they  have 
seen  me  torn  limb  from  limb." 

Then  the  men  struck  the  horses  with  the 
whips,  and  just  as  they  bounded  away  I  broke 
my  thongs  and  stood  free.  I  thirsted  for  the 
blood  of  the  men  who  had  bound  that  woman 
to  the  wild  horses  ;  but  the  horror  in  my  heart 
was  so  great  that  I  stood  impotently,  like  the 
others,  to  watch  the  mad  race  that  had  death 
at  its  end. 

The  death  of  the  woman  would  have  been 
speedy  and  terrible;  but  just  as  the  horses 
gave  one  wild  leap,  the  thongs  that  bound  her 
to  one  of  them  broke.  She  fell  free  from  that 
horse,  and  it  ran  away,  while  the  bonds  that 


24  LO-TO-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED. 

fastened  her  to  the  other  horse  held  fast. 
She  struck  the  ground  and  bounded  up,  then 
struck  the  ground  again,  and  it  seemed  that 
her  life  would  not  last  as  long  as  it  takes  a 
man  to  breathe.  Then  she  struck  the  ground 
upon  her  feet,  and  the  bonds  that  held  her 
broke.  She  made  one  forward  leap  that  was 
as  swift  as  a  flash  of  lightning,  caught  the  flow- 
ing tail  of  the  horse,  and  with  strength  like  the 
strength  of  a  spirit  she  climbed  upon  the 
horse's  back.  Then  with  a  cry  of  defiance  she 
waved  her  hand  in  menace  as  the  horse  shot 
away  over  the  plains.  The  way  was  full  of 
danger  to  the  woman,  as  she  had  no  means  of 
making  the  horse  obey,  and  the  plains  were 
full  of  holes  and  arroyos ;  but  it  was  the  glad- 
dest sight  I  ever  saw.  It  turned  the  blood  in 
my  veins  to  fire,  and  I  gave  the  terrible  war- 
cry  of  my  people,  and  raising  my  giant's  club 
in  the  air  I  crushed  in  the  head  of  the  nearest 
man  at  a  blow.  Then  the  whole  tribe  turned 
upon  me  and  fought  me  backward,  step  by  step, 
until  it  seemed  that  my  time  had  come  to  bite 
the  dust.  I  slew  five  of  the  men,  and  then  they 
pressed  me  hard;  and,  when  it  seemed  that 
all  was  over  with  me,  I  saw  the  black  one  of 
the  wild  horses  racing  toward  where  we  were 
fighting.  The  horse  had  run  wildly  away  when 


LO-TO-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED.  25 

the  woman  had  broken  loose  from  his  tail,  and 
now  he  was  racing  home  again.  When  I  saw 
him  coming,  I  believed  that  I  might  catch  him 
and  go  free  ;  and,  swinging  my  club  to  the 
right  and  to  the  left,  I  ran  straight  through 
the  people,  breaking  some  heads  as  I  went, 
and  I  caught  the  wild  horse  by  the  mane, 
while  the  people  stared  in  wonder.  I  swung 
myself  to  his  back,  I  laughed  in  the  teeth  of 
the  Navajos,  and  I  sped  away  over  the  brown 
sands  of  the  plains  in  pursuit  of  the  woman, 
who  would  now  be  fairly  mine  if  I  could  reach 
her  and  save  her. 

The  horse  that  bore  the  woman  was  far  ahead 
of  me — so  far  that  he  seemed  only  a  speck  on 
the  edge  of  the  distance.  I  cut  a  strip  from 
my  blanket,  slipped  it  into  the  mouth  of  the 
horse  I  rode,  and  then  I  believed  I  might  over- 
take the  woman ;  for  she  had  nothing  but  her 
hands  to  guide  with,  and  her  horse  ran  one 
way  and  another  and  not  in  a  straight  line. 
I  was  in  great  fear,  though ;  for  if  her  horse 
should  fall  into  a  deep  arroyo,  she  might  be 
killed  by  the  fall.  I  rode  for  two  hours  before 
I  came  to  the  woman,  and  when  I  came  to 
her,  both  the  horses  were  spent  from  long  run- 
ning. With  another  strip  cut  from  my  blanket, 
I  lassoed  the  horse  she  rode,  and  then  we  dis- 


2 6  LO-TO-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED. 

mounted   and    tied   the  horses  to  bushes   of 
cactus. 

In  the  latter  years  of  my  life  I  have  dwelt 
much  with  the  white-skinned  peoples.  I  have 
talked  to  their  wise  men,  who  asked  me  much 
of  the  gods  and  the  old  tales  of  my  tribe.  I 
have  even  learned  to  read  in  their  books,  and 
I  know  so  much  of  those  people  that  I  can 
talk  as  they  talk.  I  have  many  times  heard 
them  speak  of  love  and  of  gratitude  ;  but  I  say 
to  you,  Sefior,  that  no  man  knows  so  well  as  I 
the  meaning  of  those  words.  When  the  woman 
came  down  from  her  horse  there  was  such  a 
look  in  her  eyes  as  I  expect  to  see  in  the  eyes 
of  the  deathless  women  who  dwell  in  the  bright 
hunting-grounds  that  lie  beyond  the  grave. 
She  came  to  me  with  that  look  on  her  face  ; 
she  placed  her  round  arms  about  my  neck ;  she 
nestled  my  head  to  her  shoulder  as  a  mother 
nestles  a  child  ;  and  then  she  told  me  she 
loved  me  above  all  the  men  and  the  things  of 
earth,  and  that  she  would  be  my  slave  and 
would  follow  me  until  the  day  of  her  death. 
It  was  then,  Sefior,  that  I  learned  to  love. 
The  woman's  touch  brought  ecstasy  to  every 
fiber  of  my  flesh,  and  I  took  her  in  my  arms  I 
pressed  my  lips  to  hers  in  kisses  that  seemed  to 
bring  our  very  souls  together,  and  I  forgot  the 


LO-TO-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED.  2j 

Navajos,  I  forgot  my  own  people,  I  forgot  all  ex- 
cept that  I  was  young,  that  the  world  was  beau- 
tiful, and  that  she  I  loved — she  who  was  the 
very  heart  of  my  heart — was  in  my  arms.  Ah, 
Sefior,  you  white-skinned  men  know  wondrous 
things ;  but  until  you  know  such  a  love  as  I 
have  known,  until  you  know  the  first  wild, 
mad  love  of  a  free  child  of  nature,  you  know 
not  the  true  secret  of  joy. 

I  took  the  maid  with  me,  and  we  went  to 
the  land  of  my  own  people.  I  went,  not  like 
a  man  who  goes  to  seek  honor  among  the  men 
of  his  kind,  but  like  a  man  content  who  might 
have  dwelt  in  paradise — a  man  with  no  sorrow 
in  his  memory ;  a  happy  man.  My  chief  chided 
me,  but  when  he  saw  the  maid  he  took  back 
his  words,  and  said  that  I  had  done  well. 
Then  I  builded  me  a  can-nee  of  the  skins  of 
buffalo  and  was  happy — happy  as  few  men 
ever  are.  But  in  time  there  came  thoughts  of 
the  brute-faced  husband  who  had  known  the 
love  of  my  peerless  maid,  and  thoughts  of  the 
cowardly,  strutting  lover  who  had  sought  to 
work  her  doom.  Then  fierceness  came  again 
into  my  soul,  and  I  knew  that  happiness  would 
not  abide  with  me  so  long  as  those  two  men 
breathed  the  breath  of  life. 

I  went  among  my  people  and  I  chose  ten 


2 8  LO-TO-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED. 

men, — ten  men  who,  like  me,  were  young, — 
and  I  induced  them  to  join  me  in  a  raid  on  the 
tribe  of  the  Navajo  people  with  whom  my  wife 
had  dwelt.  When  we  went  forth  I  rode  the 
milk-white  stallion  that  my  maiden  had  ridden, 
and  I  left  her  the  black  horse  as  a  token  that 
I  would  safely  return.  When  we  came  to  the 
land  of  the  Navajos,  we  went  boldly  among 
them  as  a  band  of  conquerors  might  go  among 
a  tribe  of  slaves.  We  were  but  ten  and  one, 
and  they  were  many ;  but  we  were  men  with 
right  on  our  side,  and  they  were  only  Navajos, 
who  had  sought  to  do  a  cowardly  thing.  The 
chief  who  had  bound  my  maiden  to  the  horses 
met  us  with  parley,  and  asked  us  what  we  de- 
sired, that  we  rode  into  their  land  in  the  gear  of 
war.  My  face  was  masked  with  paint,  and  he 
knew  me  not,  and  I  gave  answer : 

"  A  young  warrior  of  our  tribe  has  come  from 
the  land  of  the  Navajos  bearing  a  woman  who 
was  once  wife  to  one  of  your  warriors.  We 
come  to  get  tidings  of  that  man." 

The  chief  answered  : 

"The  man  has  taken  another  woman  to 
wife,  and  has  forgotten  the  false  woman  whom 
the  witches  helped  to  ride  to  your  land  on  an 
untamed  horse." 

Then  I  said  :  "  There  was  a  man  who  was  a 


LO-TO-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED.  ^  I 

lover  of  the  woman,  and  who  charged  her  with 
being  a  witch.  What  of  him  ? " 

The  chief  laughed  and  said :  "  Oh,  he  has 
a  wife,  and  some  lovers,  too,  and  has  forgotten 
the  woman  who  rode  to  your  land." 

Then  I  said :  "  Bring  forth  this  man  who 
was  the  woman's  husband  !  Bring  forth  the 
last  woman  he  has  taken  for  a  wife,  and  bring, 
too,  the  man  who  was  the  lover !  " 

The  chief  obeyed  and  brought  them  forth ; 
but  they  all  feared  danger,  and  they  brought 
forth  also  full  fifty  of  their  warriors — that 
being  all  who  were  near. 

Then  I  said :  "  I  am  he  whom  you  bound 
with  thongs ;  I  am  the  man  who  slew  five  of 
your  coyotes,  who  are  called  warriors ;  I  am 
the  man  who  rode  the  black  stallion  after  the 
only  beautiful  woman  that  ever  dwelt  in  the 
land  of  the  Navajos,  and  I  have  come  to  take 
the  life  of  the  coward  who  was  her  husband, 
and  of  the  brute  who  sought  to  have  her  killed. 
I  have  come  to  kill  them  and  the  men  who 
bound  her  to  the  horses  ;  and,  when  I  have 
killed  them,  I  will  take  the  last  wife  of  the 
husband  of  the  black  heart,  and  that  woman 
shall  be  a  slave  to  my  wife.  Defend— for  your 
time  has  come  /" 

Then,  with  a  mighty  swing  of  my  stone  war- 


32  LO-TO-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED. 

club,  I  crushed  the  head  of  the  chief  as  I 
would  crush  the  egg  of  a  wild-bird ;  and  with 
the  war-cry  of  our  people  ringing  on  our  lips 
we  rede  upon  those  dogs  of  Navajos,  and  with 
every  swing  of  our  clubs  a  white  hearted  coyote 
bit  the  dust.  With  my  own  hand  I  slew  him 
who  had  been  husband  and  him  who  had  been 
lover,  and  then  we  slew  to  the  right  and  to  the 
left — slew  all  who  came  in  our  way,  until  the 
ones  who  were  not  slain  turned  and  fled  like 
the  fawn  before  the  hunter.  Then  we  took 
the  scalps  of  the  slain  to  pass  down  to  our 
children,  and  I  lassoed  the  wife  of  the  man 
whose  life  I  had  come  so  far  to  take.  I  bound 
her  behind  me  on  the  white  horse,  and  I  took 
her  to  the  land  of  my  people  to  be  a  slave  to 
the  fair  woman  who  was  my  wife,  and  whom  I 
never  allowed  to  work  as  the  other  wives  had 
to  do.  I  have  fought  often  since  that  fight ;  I 
have  fought  the  white  soldiers  when  I  would 
have  given  my  life  to  have  killed  one  of  them  : 
but  never  have  I  taken  the  life  of  a  man  when 
killing  was  so  sweet  to  me  as  it  was  when  I 
laughed  in  the  faces  of  the  men  who  had 
striven  to  murder  the  woman  whose  smile  was 
sweeter  than  victory  to  me. 

That   was  long  in  the  past,  Senor — many 
moons  in  the  long,  long  ago.     It  was  when  I 


LO-TO-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED.  33 

was  a  young  man,  and  eighty  springs  have 
blossomed  and  faded  since  I  was  born. 
Thirty  years  ago  my  wife  died  in  my  arms — 
an  old  woman,  but  as  young  to  me  as  that 
time  when  we  raced  for  life  or  death  across 
the  bare,  brown  plains  upon  the  two  wild 
stallions.  When  she  died  I  came  to  like  not 
this  land,  and  the  spirit  of  roving  entered  me. 
I  joined  a  show  owned  by  a  white-skinned 
man,  and  I  traveled  to  many  places  and  many 
cities.  I  mingled  much  with  the  people  of 
your  blood.  I  learned  their  speech  so  well 
that,  but  for  my  color,  you  would  not  know 
me  for  an  Indian;  and  when  I  returned  to 
my  own  land,  as  men  will  do  when  old  age 
comes  upon  them,  there  came  to  this  land  a 
priest  from  Mexico  telling  strange  tales  of  the 
right  and  the  wrong  of  life.  That  priest  be- 
came my  friend  ;  I  talked  much  with  him,  as 
I  knew  his  language,  and  he  chided  me  for 
the  sins  of  my  early  days.  I  know  now  that 
those  deeds  were  sins,  but  I  knew  it  not  then, 
and  before  I  knew  it  I  called  them  the  best 
things  that  came  into  my  life.  The  creed  of 
the  priests  may  be  true — I  know  not ;  but  I 
would  give  my  hopes  of  the  white  man's  heaven 
to  be  young  again — to  live  again  that  wild, 
glad  day  when  I  rode  that  wild  ride  on  the 


34 


LO-TO-KAH,  THE  UNCIVILIZED. 


plains,  and  at  the  end  of  it  folded  my  sweet 
Zeetah  for  the  first  time  in  my  arms. 

That  is  all  of  my  tale,  Senor.  It  is  a  wild 
tale — a  tale  that  tells  much  of  bloodshed  and 
battle,  and  it  will  not  be  liked  by  many  of  the 
people  of  your  kind.  But  you  came  among 
us  to  learn  true  things  of  the  Indian  people, 
and  I  have  told  you  a  tale  that  is  true. 


THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLEDAD. 


IT  was  one  of  the  burning  days  of  the  South- 
land. The  fierce  sun  smote  the  brown  New 
Mexican  mountains  with  scorching  rays ;  the 
bare  mesas  seemed  to  shine  and  quiver  in  the 
white  glare,  and  waves  of  shimmering  heat 
could  be  seen  rising  from  the  waterless  soil. 
It  was  the  season  of  drouth — that  dreary  time 
when  the  poor  fields  of  the  peons  dry  up;  when 
even  water  to  drink  is  scarce,  and  when  the 
gaunt  spectre  of  poverty  hovers  over  the 
stricken  land.  Down  an  uninhabited  valley, 
on  this  dreary  day,  went  a  traveller,  riding  a 
jaded  horse,  and  both  man  and  beast  seemed 
exhausted  from  weariness  and  thirst.  The 

37 


,g  THE  WITCH  Of  RANCHO  SOLED  AD. 

man  was  young :  the  rounded  curves  of  youth 
still  beautified  his  figure  ;  but  in  his  eyes  was 
the  look  of  one  who  had  sought  long  and  far 
for  something  he  had  not  found. 

In  time  the  traveller  turned  from  the  wind- 
ings of  the  valley  and  rode  over  a  low  mesa 
into  a  smaller  valley,  and  just  as  the  sun  was 
sinking  in  the  west  he  drew  rein  before  an 
adobe  Mexican  house  of  the  better  class.  In 
answer  to  his  call,  a  gray-haired  Mexican  ap- 
peared in  the  doorway.  The  traveller  ex- 
plained that  he  had  journeyed  a  long  distance  ; 
that  he  was  weary,  thirsty  and  hungry  ;  that 
his  horse  could  go  no  farther,  and  he  craved 
the  Mexican  to  give  him  entertainment. 

"  No  man  craves  shelter  in  vain  among  my 
people,"  said  the  Mexican.  "  Alight :  enter 
my  poor  house,  which  is  now  your  house,  and 
you  and  your  horse  shall  be  cared  for.  Ho, 
Ramon  !  "  calling  a  servant,  "  stable  and  feed 
the  horse,  and  then  prepare  food  for  the 
guest." 

The  servant,  a  thin,  shambling  Mexican, 
bowed  low,  took  the  horse  to  the  corral,  and 
the  old  man  and  the  traveller  entered  the 
house. 

"  I  have  no  wife,  no  child,  to  welcome  you," 
said  the  Mexican,  as  they  entered  the  dim 


THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLED  AD.          39 

room.  "  I  live  alone  with  my  servant  and  my 
thoughts,  save  when  some  chance  Indian  or 
traveller  reaches  this  secluded  place,  and  I  fear 
I  shall  be  but  sorry  company  for  you.  But  sit 
you  down,  rest,  and  I  will  give  you  wine,  which, 
after  all,  holds  a  truer  welcome  than  a  man 
may  get  from  a  woman  ;  I  will  give  you  food, 
that  staff  of  life  which  brings  dull  content  to 
those  of  dull  minds  ;  I  will  give  you  tobacco 
to  lure  sweet  languor ;  and  then,  if  you  prefer 
solitude,  I  will  retire  and  leave  you  alone  with 
memory — that  many-faced  companion  from 
whom  no  man  can  flee." 

The  words  and  tone  of  the  hermit-like  Mexi- 
can betokened  that  he  was  partly  crazed  ;  but 
the  traveller  heeded  little,  for  besides  being 
weary  he  was  despondent.  The  world  had  given 
him  much,  but  he  wanted  more,  and  all  he  had 
gained  was  disappointment.  He  ate  of  the 
Mexican's  food,  drank  of  his  wine,  and  then 
settled  himself  upon  a  blanket-covered  couch 
and  smoked  in  silence,  while  the  old  man 
stared  at  the  cemented  wall,  and  seemed  to 
forget  that  he  was  not  alone. 

For  an  hour  the  two  silent  men  sat,  each 
engrossed  in  his  own  thoughts,  and  then 
Ramon,  the  servant,  entered  the  room  and 
announced  that  a  visitor  was  without. 


40          THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLED  AD. 

"  Whom  may  it  be  ?  "  asked  the  old  man, 
rousing  himself  from  his  revery. 

"  It  is  Mape-ah-sas,  the  Ute,"  answered  the 
servant. 

"He  is  welcome,"  said  the  old  man,  his 
face  lighting  up  ;  "  he  is  welcome,  and  my 
house  is  his  house.  Admit  him." 

The  traveller,  who  knew  something  of  the 
customs  of  the.  natives  of  the  Southwest, 
wondered  why  the  Indian  had  so  far  departed 
from  the  local  usage  as  to  have  himself  an- 
nounced before  entering.  The  servant  retired 
from  the  room,  and  soon  a  small  old  Indian 
entered. 

The  Indian  seemed  to  be  about  sixty  years 
of  age.  His  thick  hair  was  slightly  grizzled ; 
he  stooped  the  veriest  trifle,  and  he  walked 
with  a  silent,  gliding  step.  He  was  dressed 
in  the  usual  costume  of  the  Utes — elk-hide 
moccasins,  deerskin  leggins,  a  "  gee-string  "  of 
cloth,  a  shirt  of  bright  colored  material,  and 
over  all  a  Navajo  blanket.  He  was  short  and 
slight,  his  eyes  were  bright  and  set  very  close 
together,  and  his  thin  lips  were  habitually 
compressed,  giving  him  an  eager  expression  of 
countenance.  The  Mexican  met  him  at  the 
door,  embraced  him,  and  said  in  Spanish  : 

"Welcome  to  my  poor  house,  Mape-ah-sas, 


THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLE  DAD.          ^x 

my  friend.  It  is  good  to  look  upon  you  again — 
you,  who  come  to  me  so  seldom.  Be  seated, 
rest,  and  eat  of  the  food  my  servant  shall  pre- 
pare. But  first  let  me  make  you  known  to  the 
stranger  who  tarries  with  me.  Stranger,  this  is 
Mape-ah-sas,  the  Ute.  He  is  a  pivu-au-gut J  of 
renown  among  his  own  people,  and  even 
among  the  Navajos  and  Apaches.  He  is  a 
medicine-man  and  my  good  friend." 

"My-eck!"  said  the  Indian,  scarcely  look- 
ing at  the  stranger. 

The  stranger  knew  the  meaning  of  the  Ute 
salutation,  and  he  answered  in  Spanish  :  "  I 
welcome  you,  friend." 

The  servant  brought  food  to  the  Indian, 
and  when  he  had  eaten  he  rolled  a  brown 
cigarette  and  began  talking  to  the  Mexican, 
speaking  in  the  low,  guttural  dialect  of  the 
Utes,  which  the  traveller  did  not  understand. 
After  the  conversation  had  lasted  a  few  min- 
utes, the  Mexican  turned  to  the  stranger  and 
said  : 

"  It  is  not  courteous  that  I  and  my  friend 
speak  in  a  tongue  that  you  do  not  understand. 
Mape-ah-sas  knows  something  of  the  Spanish 
language,  and  we  will  speak  in  that,  craving 

1  Medicine  Man. 


42  THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLED  AD. 

your  pardon  for  our  forgetfulness  in  not  doing 
so  sooner." 

"  I  know  but  little  Spanish,"  said  the 
stranger,  "  and  would  not  understand  it  much 
better  than  the  language  of  your  friend.  Be- 
sides, your  conversation  concerns  only  him 
and  you,  and  I  beg  you  not  to  trouble  your- 
selves on  my  account." 

"  We  speak  no  secrets,"  said  the  Mexican, 
"and  would  like  you  to  join  in  the  talk;  for 
pleasant  converse  is  potent  to  drive  away  the 
cares  that  stay  with  silent  men.  But  the 
pwu-au-gut  knows  scarce  ten  words  of  the 
English  language,  and  if  you  are  not  familiar 
with  Spanish  we  cannot  all  three  converse  un- 
less I  act  as  interpreter,  which  I  shall  be  glad 
to  do." 

"  I  beg  of  you  not  to  trouble  yourself,"  said 
the  stranger. 

Mape-ah-sas  now  turned  in  his  seat  and 
gazed  intently  into  the  stranger's  face;  then 
he  said  something  in  his  native  tongue  to  the 
Mexican.  The  Mexican  shook  his  head  in 
dissent,  but  the  traveller  could  see  that  the 
medicine-man  persisted  in  the  statement  he 
had  made.  As  he  felt  sure  that  the  remarks 
of  the  Indian  touched  himself,  he  asked  the 
Mexican  what  was  said. 


THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLE  DAD. 


43 


The  Mexican  smiled  faintly,  and  replied : 
"  Mape-ah-sas  asks  if  there  is  not  Indian 
blood  in  your  veins." 

"  There  is  none — not  a  drop,"  answered  the 
stranger,  also  smiling. 

The  Mexican  translated  the  reply,  but  the 
Indian  shook  his  head,  and  peered  more 
closely  at  the  stranger. 

"  Mape-ah-sas  says  the  Indian  blood  flows 
in  your  veins,"  said  the  Mexican  gravely. 
"Mape-ah-sas  is  a  great pimi-au-gut,  or  magi- 
cian, among  his  people,  and  he  makes  but  few 
mistakes.  Review  carefully  your  knowledge 
of  your  genealogy,  and  try  to  remember  if  a 
slight  strain  of  Indian  blood  may  not  have 
been  mixed  with  the  blood  of  your  ancestors. 
And  if  it  prove  to  be  so,  Mape-ah-sas  may  tell 
you  some  things  that  are  strange,  for  he  would 
then  speak  to  you  as  one  Indian  speaks  to  an- 
other ;  and  I  believe  he  has  garnered  all  the 
strange  knowledge  that  is  known  to  the  un- 
schooled wild  peoples  of  the  West  and  South." 

The  traveller  was  amused  at  the  earnestness 
of  the  other  two  men ;  but  he  welcomed  the 
episode,  as  it  was  causing  him  to  forget  the 
dull  regret  that  was  with  him  night  and  day. 
He  smiled  and  answered  : 

"  You  may  say  to  our  interesting  friend  that 


44  THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLED  AD. 

I  am  absolutely  sure  there  is  no  Indian  blood 
in  my  veins.  All  my  ancestors  were  more  or 
less  worthy  Anglo-Saxons ;  I  half  regret,  though, 
that  I  am  not  wholly  Indian,  for  while  their 
knowledge  is  only  slight  their  cares  are 
but  few,  and  one  might  find  a  dull  kind  of 
content  if  he  lived  the  empty,  simple  life  of  an 
Indian." 

"  Speak  not  hastily,  my  son,"  said  the  old 
Mexican  gravely.  "  The  Indians,  like  us^  are 
the  children  of  God,  and  while  they  may  have 
but  little  of  our  knowledge,  they  may  be  wise 
in  many  things  that  are  beyond  us." 

Mape-ah-sas  rose,  placed  his  blanket  care- 
fully over  the  back  of  a  chair,  advanced  to 
the  stranger  and  took  his  hand.  He  looked 
steadily  at  the  palm  for  a  little  time  and  then 
gazed  intently  into  the  stranger's  eyes.  After 
searching  the  man's  eyes  for  a  few  moments 
he  straightened  himself  to  his  full  height,  still 
retaining  the  hand;  then  his  face  became 
rigid,  his  eyes  took  on  a  wide,  staring  expres- 
sion, and  to  the  intense  surprise  of  the 
stranger  he  began  speaking  in  the  purest 
English. 

"  Stranger,"  spoke  the  rigid  Indian,  "  the 
wild  blood  calls  to  the  wild  blood  the  wide 
world  over.  The  scent  of  the  forest  is  dear  to 


The  trance   of  Mape-ah-sas. 


THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLEDAD.          47 

you  as  it  is  dear  to  me  ;  the  evening  sunlight 
falling  on  the  everlasting  hills  makes  beautiful 
pictures  to  your  eyes  as  it  does  to  mine ;  the 
sun,  the  moon,  the  myriads  of  stars,  speak  to 
you  of  infinite  space,  infinite  eternity,  infinite 
mystery.  The  petty  rules  of  the  tame  people  of 
civilization  are  galling  to  your  soul :  like  me, 
you  love  the  wide  plains,  the  deep  forests  and 
the  wild  mountains.  O  stranger  of  the  white 
skin,  in  the  veins  of  your  body  flows  the 
Indian  blood — the  Indian  blood  that  makes 
you  known  to  me,  and  will  make  you  known 
to  all  Indian  men  of  magic,  no  matter  of  what 
tribe  they  are.  The  Indian  blood  in  your 
veins  is  but  little — so  little,  indeed,  that  its 
first  advent  into  the  stock  of  your  people  has 
been  forgotten  ;  but  it  is  there,  and  it  is 
known  to  me.  It  is  not  good  for  Indian  blood 
to  flow  in  any  but  Indian  veins ;  it  is  an 
Indian  law  that  children  of  mixed  blood  shall 
not  live.  But  as  the  sin  of  which  you  are  a 
distant  fruit  is  of  the  long  ago,  you  shall  be 
my  friend,  and  I  will  teach  you  of  the  Indian 
knowledge — a  knowledge  that  few  but  Indians 
ever  know." 

The  Indian  ceased  speaking,  and  stood  with 
a  vacant  expression  on  his  face,  still  holding 
the  white  man's  hand. 


48          THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLEDAD. 

"  You  told  me  he  spoke  no  English  !  "  said 
the  stranger,  addressing  the  Mexican. 

"  Be  silent,"  replied  the  old  man,  speaking 
almost  in  a  whisper,  "  Be  silent,  and  you  may 
learn  some  wondrous  things.  Mape-ah-sas 
is  now  entranced.  I  have  seen  him  thus 
before." 

The  Ute  stood  with  upturned  face  for  a  few 
moments ;  then  the  tenseness  of  his  attitude 
relaxed,  a  look  of  dullness  came  into  his  face, 
and  he  released  the  stranger's  hand  and  re- 
turned to  his  seat.  After  sitting  in  silence  for 
a  little  time  he  spoke  in  the  Ute  language  to 
the  Mexican,  who  turned  to  the  stranger  and 
said : 

"  Mape-ah-sas  says  he  knows  the  Indian 
blood  is  in  your  veins ;  he  knows  that  you  are 
troubled  ;  and,  if  you  desire,  he  will  endeavor 
to  help  you  in  the  fulfillment  of  the  wish  that 
has  possession  of  your  heart." 

The  traveller  stared  curiously  at  the  two 
strange  figures  before  him — the  old  Indian 
sitting  quietly  in  his  chair,  apparently  without 
a  thought  in  his  mind ;  the  Mexican,  speak- 
ing of  magic  and  of  supernatural  things  in  as 
easy  a  manner,  as  though  they  were  the  sim- 
plest things  in  life.  The  situation  was  strange, 
and  the  spell  of  its  weirdnesswas  taking  hold 


THE  WITCH  OF  RANG  HO  SOLED  AD.  ,g 

upon  the  traveller.  Why  was  it  that  that  un- 
lettered Indian  could  speak  in  good  English  ? 
Why  was  it  that  the  Mexican,  who  seemed  a 
man  of  some  education,  should  believe  so  im- 
plicitly in  the  wild  statements  of  the  medicine- 
man ?  And  what  if,  after  all,  these  strange 
things  might  be  true  ?  It  might  possibly  be 
true  that  Indian  blood  was  in  his  veins. 
Might  it  not  be  true  that  the  power  of  the 
Indian  could  help  him  to  the  realization  of 
his  wish  ?  There  was  a  wish  in  his  heart — a 
burning,  unsatisfied  wish.  There  was  a  wo- 
man whose  memory  was  in  his  mind  by  day 
and  by  night,  whose  image  appeared  to  him 
in  his  sleep.  And  if  this  claim  of  magic 
might  be  proved, — if  the  woman  could  be 
with  him  again  ;  if  they  might  spend  one 
short  hour  together,  as  in  that  glad  old  time 
before  he  had  become  a  wanderer  upon  the 
face  of  the  earth  and  she  had  immured  her- 
self from  the  world, — he  believed  that  life 
would  be  more  endurable. 

Mape-ah-sas  spoke  to  the  Mexican,  who 
translated  to  the  stranger  : 

"  Mape-ah-sas  says  it  is  well,  and  that  your 
wish  shall  be  fulfilled.  If  you  desire,  the  fair 
woman  shall  be  with  you  once  more ;  but 
make  sure  first  that  that  is  your  desire,  for 


t;o  THE  WITCH  OF  RANG  HO  SOLE  DAD. 

that  instant  of  bliss  may  be  atoned  for  by  years 
of  longing  and  regret." 

The  stranger  stared  at  the  two  men  in  wide- 
eyed  astonishment.  Could  they,  then,  read  his 
mind  ?  He  was  sure  he  had  not  allowed  his 
thoughts  to  form  themselves  into  spoken  words, 
but  the  answer  that  had  been  given  him  was 
as  apt  as  though  it  had  been  a  reply  to  a  ques- 
tion. He  shook  himself  to  make  sure  he  was 
not  dreaming ;  and  for  the  second  time  dur- 
ing this  strange  interview,  it  occurred  to  him 
that  there  might,  after  all,  be  some  truth  in 
this  magic  in  which  the  other  men  seemed  so 
implicitly  to  believe.  "  Ask  Mape-ah-sas 
when  my  wish  shall  be  granted,"  he  said  to 
the  Mexican. 

"This  very  night,  within  the  duration  of 
the  present  darkness  that  now  hangs  over  the 
earth,"  translated  the  Mexican.  "  This  very 
night,  if  you  are  not  afraid." 

"  I  am  not  afraid ;  why  should  I  be  ? " 
answered  the  stranger.  "Life  is  a  fearful 
thing,  and  I  do  not  fear  even  it.  What  would 
the  pwu-au-gtit  have  me  do  ?" 

"  He  would  have  you  retire  to  the  room 
where  you  will  sleep.  Come,  let  me  conduct 
you  to  your  chamber." 

The  Mexican  led  the  way  to  another  room ; 


THE  WITCH  OF  KANCHO  SOLE  DAD.  51 

the  stranger  followed  him,  and  was  followed 
in  turn  by  the  Indian.  The  room  they  en- 
tered was  a  very  large  one :  the  ceiling 
was  much  higher  than  the  ceiling  of  the 
room  they  had  been  in  ;  and  a  wide,  high 
window,  opening  to  the  south,  let  in  great 
floods  of  moonlight,  making  the  room  so  light 
that  one  might  almost  have  read  large  print. 
On  the  floor  was  a  carpet  of  Navajo  blankets ; 
a  bed,  built  into  the  wall,  was  covered  with 
the  same  kind  of  blankets;  and  on  one  side 
of  the  room  was  an  archway  that  was  closed 
with  two  blue  Chimolla  curtains  of  fine  weav- 
ing. A  low  chair,  covered  with  blankets,  was 
in  the  room ;  but  there  was  no  other  furni- 
ture, save  the  bed.  The  Mexican  brought  a 
pair  of  deerskin  slippers,  and  the  stranger 
donned  them  instead  of  his  dusty  shoes. 

"  Now  lie  down  upon  the  couch,"  said  the 
Mexican. 

The  traveller  stretched  himself  at  full 
length  upon  the  bed,  pillowed  his  head  upon 
a  folded  blanket,  and  looked  curiously  at  the 
other  men.  A  sense  of  rest  soon  came  to 
him — a  delicious  languor  that  made  all  unreal 
things  seem  half  true  and  all  true  things  half 
unreal. 

The  Mexican  sat  down  on  the  low  chair, 


52  THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLE  DAD. 

and  the  Indian  lay  down  upon  the  floor,  prone 
upon  his  face,  and  stretched  out  his  arms 
toward  the  northwest.  The  languor  that  had 
come  upon  the  stranger  made  him  so  indiffer- 
ent that  he  scarcely  noted  the  strangeness  of 
the  actions. 

After  lying  silently  on  the  floor  for  a  little 
time  the  Indian  arose,  approached  the  bed, 
and  placed  his  cheek  to  the  stranger's  breast. 
After  remaining  in  this  position  for  a  few  mo- 
ments he  waved  his  arms  over  the  traveller's 
head,  retreated  a  few  steps,  and  began  chant- 
ing in  a  weird,  uncanny  tone.  The  weirdness 
of  the  chant  was  indescribable.  It  was  like 
what  the  cry  of  a  lost  soul  might  be  if  it  were 
mingled  with  the  sough  of  the  wind  in  a  pine 
forest;  and  as  it  went  on,  the  old  Mexican 
drooped  his  head  upon  his  hands,  and  objects 
became  indistinct  to  the  eyes  of  the  traveller. 
Was  this  tale  of  magic  true,  then  ?  Was  the 
pwu-au-gut  placing  him  under  a  spell  that 
would  enable  his  soul  to  leave  his  body  and 
go  to  the  loved  woman  who  was  thousands  of 
miles  away,  locked  behind  the  stern  walls  of  a 
convent  ?  The  objects  in  the  room  became 
more  and  more  indistinct :  the  silent  Mexican 
seemed  to  be  receding  farther  and  farther 
away ;  the  sound  of  the  weird  chant  became 


THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SO  LED  AD.  53 

lower  and  lower ;  and,  before  he  was  aware, 
the  traveller  fell  asleep. 

How  long  he  had  slept  he  did  not  know ; 
but  when  he  awoke  he  was  conscious  of  a 
delicious  languor,  like  that  which  comes  to  one 
who  awakes  from  a  sleep  after  a  plunge  in  the 
waters  of  the  ocean.  The  sensation  of  com- 
plete rest  was  perfect,  and  at  first  he  was  so 
indifferent  to  his  surroundings  that  he  scarcely 
opened  his  eyes.  However,  he  became  fully 
awake  before  long,  and  raised  himself 
upon  his  elbow  and  looked  about  him.  He 
was  still  lying,  dressed,  upon  the  blanketed 
couch ;  the  deerskin  slippers  were  yet  upon 
his  feet ;  the  soft  moonlight  was  shining 
through  the  broad  window.  But  the  Ute 
and  the  Mexican  were  gone.  Sounding 
faintly,  as  though  coming  from  a  long  dis- 
tance, he  heard  the  noise  of  the  chant,  rising 
and  falling  in  weird  cadences.  This,  then, 
was  the  magic  of  the  Indian  pwu-au-gut ! 
This,  and  this  only  !  The  Indian  was  some- 
thing of  a  mesmerist,  and  could  put  men  to 
sleep ;  and  because  this  thing  seemed  mirac- 
ulous to  his  heathen  mind  he  believed  him- 
self to  be  endowed  with  supernatural  power. 
The  traveller  was  somewhat  sorry  that  the 
charm  had  failed ;  that  the  Indian  had  not 


C4  THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLE  DAD. 

really  been  able  to  take  him  to  the  side  of  the 
beautiful  woman  who  was  dearer  than  life  to 
him — the  woman  that  he  had  lost,  but  still 
loved.  But  it  was  for  the  best,  after  all,  that 
there  was  no  such  charm  or  power  as  the  In- 
dian boasted.  The  night  was  beautiful,  the 
blanketed  couch  was  soft  and  welcome  to  him 
after  the  fatigues  of  the  day,  and  it  were  best 
to  sleep  and  forget.  It  surprised  him,  too 
that  for  a  little  time  he  had  almost  believed 
in  the  power  claimed  by  the  Indian. 

The  gaze  of  the  traveller  wandered  over  the 
room.  There  was  a  lace  curtain  at  the  win- 
dow that  he  had  not  noticed  before,  and  those 
blue  Chimolla  curtains  at  the  door  were  of 
finer  texture  than  he  had  at  first  observed. 
Again  came  the  sound  of  the  distant  chant- 
ing. He  smiled.  He  had  heard  that  Indian 
medicine-men  believe  implicitly  in  their  own 
powers  ;  and  no  doubt  Mape-ah-sas  thought 
the  chant,  even  then,  was  enabling  the  man 
and  woman  to  be  with  each  other. 

While  the  traveller  was  musing  idly  he  saw 
the  blue  Chimolla  curtains  that  covered  the 
portiere  move ;  then  they  slowly  parted,  and 
the  form  of  a  beautiful  woman  came  into  the 
room.  He  gave  a  violent  start.  Could  it  be 
true,  after  all,  that  the  charm  had  worked  and 


THE  WITCH  OF  RANG  HO  SOLED  AD.  r  r 

that  the  woman  was  coming  to  him  ?  A  mo- 
ment sufficed,  however,  to  show  him  his  error 
The  woman  who  entered  the  room  was  sur- 
passingly beautiful,  but  she  was  not  the  one 
named  in  his  wish.  She  was  a  woman  who 
might  have  been  twenty,  or  might  have  been 
thirty,  years  of  age ;  she  was  of  medium 
height,  and  her  figure  was  full.  Her  hair  was 
neither  black  nor  brown,  but  was  of  that  in- 
describable shade  that  is  between  the  two 
colors.  Her  ripe  lips  were  full  and  beautiful ; 
her  features  were  finely  molded,  and  her  eyes 
were  of  that  shade  of  dark  shimmering  blue 
that  no  man  can  describe.  Over  her  hair  she 
wore  a  thin,  gauzy  black  rebosa ;  her  neck, 
arms,  and  shoulders  were  bare,  and  gleamed 
in  the  moonlight  like  carved  ivory,  and  she 
wore  a  thin,  clinging  dress.  She  was  superla- 
tively beautiful — as  beautiful  as  any  woman 
the  traveller  had  ever  seen  ;  but  even  then  her 
beauty  did  not  seem  so  good  to  him  as  the 
more  imperfect  beauty  of  the  woman  he  loved. 
The  woman  glided  to  the  side  of  the  couch 
whereon  the  traveller  lay,  and  in  soft  accents 
she  said  in  English  : 

"  I  greet  you,  stranger :  peace  be  with  you  !  " 

"  Greeting ;    and  to  you  peace,"  answered 

the  traveller,  not  noticing  that  he  had  uncon- 


r(3  THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLE  DAD. 

ciously  adopted  her  rather  Oriental  mode  of 
address. 

The  languor  of  sleep  was  still  in  the  veins 
of  the  traveller,  and  he  did  not  rise,  but  lay 
with  his  head  leaning  upon  his  hand.  The 
woman  drew  the  low  chair  to  the  side  of  the 
couch  and  sat  down,  performing  the  act  in  so 
natural  a  manner  that  the  stranger  did  not 
notice  that  it  would  have  been  unusual  under 
most  circumstances.  He  gazed  indolently 
upon  her  for  a  time,  and  then  asked  : 

"  Who  are  you  ?  " 

The  woman  smiled,  showing  two  perfect  rows 
of  pearly  teeth. 

"  Tell  me,  first — who  are  you  ? "  she  said. 
"  You,  who  come  from  a  shadowy  past  and  go 
forth  to  meet  a  still  more  shadowy  future ; 
you,  who  comprehend  neither  time  nor  eter- 
nity ;  you,  who  play  with  life  and  wish  for 
death  ? " 

"  I  am  a  wanderer,  roaming  over  this  strange 
Southwest  for  distraction.  I  am  a  guest  for  the 
night  at  this  house,  which  is  a  strange  place 
to  me ;  but  I  did  not  know  the  house  sheltered 
you  also,  as  my  host  told  me  he  had  neither 
wife  nor  child,  and  he  did  not  speak  of  other 
guests." 

To  recline  on  the   couch  and   talk  to  the 


THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLEDAD.  57 

woman,  whose  name  he  did  not  know  and 
whom  he  had  never  seen  before,  seemed  to  the 
man  to  be  a  perfectly  natural  thing. 

"Neither  has  your  host  a  wife  or  child," 
answered  the  woman.  "  He  lives  alone  with 
Ramon,  his  servant,  save  when  some  Indian 
or  traveller  visits  his  solitary  ranch.  But  he 
is  rich  in  guests  this  night ;  for,  besides  you 
and  me,  Mape-ah-sas,  the  pwu-au-gut  is  with 
him.  Do  you  not  hear  the  chant  he  is  mak- 
ing?" 

As  she  spoke,  the  faint  sound  of  the  weird 
chant  came  again  to  the  ears  of  the  travel- 
ler. 

"I  hear  the  chant,"  he  said  smiling.  "It 
was  begun  to  work  magic  for  me.  I  was  put 
to  sleep,  but  there  its  potency  seemed  to  fail, 
and  nothing  came  of  it." 

"  Indeed  !  "  said  the  woman,  smiling 
strangely.  "  And  you  are  disappointed  ?  Do 
you  regret  that  the  fair  woman  of  your  love 
is  not  with  you  instead  of  me  ?  Are  you  sorry 
that  you  are  denied  the  pleasure  of  holding 
her  in  your  arms  for  one  last  time  ?  After  all, 
is  it  not  best  for  you  not  to  see  her  ?  She  has 
taken  vows  to  cast  all  human  loves  from  her 
heart ;  and  it  is  best,  for  her  sake,  that  she 
sees  you  no  more." 


ijg  THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SO  LED  AD. 

The  traveller  sat  bolt  upright  in  astonish- 
ment, and  stared  at  the  woman,  who  sat 
placidly  by  the  side  of  the  couch. 

"Are  you  all  bewitched  here?"  he  asked. 
"  Are  you  all  bewitched,  or  am  I  asleep  and 
dreaming  ?  You  read  my  inmost  thoughts  as 
though  my  mind  were  an  open  book  in  your 
hand.  You  fathom  the  hidden  secrets  of  my 
heart.  Am  I  asleep  ?  Are  you  a  witch  ?  Ex- 
plain these  mysteries  to  me." 

Again  the  woman  smiled  that  peculiar  smile 
that  added  to  her  beauty. 

"You  ask  for  explanation  of  mysteries,"  she 
said — "  you,  who  have  lived  out  the  little 
number  of  your  days  surrounded  by  greater 
mysteries  !  Have  you  seen  the  sun  rise  in  the 
east  and  float  to  the  zenith  of  the  heavens  ? 
Have  you  listened  to  the  sound  of  the  sea- 
waves  breaking  upon  the  shore  ?  Have  you 
seen  the  towering  mountains  that  rear  their 
crests  to  the  sky  ?  Have  you  seen  children 
born,  grow  to  maturity,  and  sink  back  to  earth  ? 
Have  you  felt  the  blood  of  life  coursing  in 
your  veins  ?  Have  you  thought  of  the  thing 
called  existence,  whose  very  beginning  you 
cannot  remember,  and  whose  ending  you  can- 
not conceive  ?  Let  us  not  talk  of  mysteries — 
for  we  know  not  whereof  we  speak." 


THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLEDAD.          en 

The  traveller  gazed  long  and  wistfully  at  the 
beautiful  face  that  was  before  him. 

"  How  marvellously  beautiful  you  are  !  " 
he  ejaculated,  almost  unconsciously.  "  He 
who  has  your  love  must  be  indeed  a  happy 
man." 

"  No  man  has  my  love,"  said  the  strange 
woman  ;  "  and  even  with  my  love  no  man  that 
I  could  love  would  be  happy.  History  tells 
of  no  happy  men.  Happiness,  to  the  great,  is 
a  fleeting  mirage  that  ever  vanishes  before  it 
is  overtaken;  and  I  could  love  none  but  a 
great  man.  Even  with  you,  love  has  not 
brought  happiness ;  yet  you  would  not  forget 
your  love,  if  you  could.  You  love  deathlessly 
a  woman  who  can  never  be  yours  in  this  life. 
That  is  your  fault  in  part  and  hers  in  part,  but 
now  is  irrevocably  true.  You  did  not  ap- 
preciate the  beauties  of  your  paradise  until 
you  were  driven  from  it,  and  now  the  woman 
who  was  to  have  been  your  bride  is  the  bride 
of  the  cloister.  But  it  may  be  consolation  to 
you  to  know  that  the  woman  suffers  as  you 
suffer,  and  that  she  loves  you  to  this  day  even 
as  you  love  her." 

"  You  know  her,  then  ? " 

"  I  did  not  say  so.  But  I  know  that  she 
suffers  as  you  suffer,  and  as  most  of  the  chil- 


60  THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLE  DAD. 

dren  of  the  earth  suffer.  Ah  !  I  myself  have 
suffered ;  but  that  is  past  and  was  almost  for- 
gotten until  your  sorrow  brought  it  to  my 
memory  again.  List !  Do  you  not  hear  the 
chant  of  the pwu-au-gutt '" 

Again  was  faintly  heard  the  indescribably 
weird  wail  of  the  Ute,  floating  on  the  breeze 
like  an  echo. 

"  I  hear  it,  but  it  is  in  vain,"  answered  the 
traveller.  "  It  was  intended  to  take  me  to  the 
woman  I  love,  or  bring  her  to  me ;  but  it  has 
served  only  to  excite  afresh  the  bitter  mem- 
ories that  I  am  striving  to  cast  out  of  my 
heart." 

"It  is  not  in  vain,"  said  the  woman  with 
sudden  decision  ;  "  it  is  not  in  vain,  and  I, 
Raymeya,  say  it.  Many  of  the  powers  given 
to  us  of  this  world  are  abused;  but  there  is  a 
power,  a  human  power,  that  will  enable  your 
wish  to  be  gratified.  And,  if  nothing  more,  it 
will  serve  to  teach  you  one  more  of  the  great 
truths  of  nature.  It  is  a  human  power,  yet  a 
divine  one,  as  all  great  human  powers  are. 
Many  truths  are  hidden  because  the  poor, 
cowardly  souls  to  whom  they  might  be  revealed 
go  skulking  through  the  years  that  lie  between 
the  cradle  and  the  grave,  fearing  to  look  up 
and  learn  the  truth.  You  are  not  one  of  those, 


THE  WITCH  OF  RANCffO  SOLE  DAD.  (>l 

and  the  truth  shall  not  be  withheld  from  you. 
Rest  now,  and  hold  your  peace." 

The  traveller  lay  back  upon  his  blanket- 
pillow,  and  closed  his  eyes  for  an  instant ;  but 
when  he  opened  them  again  the  woman  was 
gone.  It  seemed  strange  to  him  that  she  had 
vanished  so  suddenly  and  silently :  he  had 
not  heard  a  footfall,  nor  the  rustle  of  a  gar- 
ment— but  she  was  gone. 

As  the  man  lay  wondering  over  the  disap- 
pearance of  the  woman,  it  seemed  to  him  that 
the  room  grew  darker ;  a  gust  of  cold  air  came 
in,  and  then  he  felt  a  sudden  movement  of  the 
atmosphere  that  could  not  have  been  made  by 
the  wind.  The  darkness  grew  denser :  for  an 
instant  all  light  was  gone,  and  then  the  room 
was  again  dimly  light.  As  the  light  returned 
the  traveller  almost  swooned  from  astonish- 
ment ;  for  there  before  him,  seemingly  in  her 
proper  person,  was  the  woman  of  his  earnest 
wish.  He  stared  in  gaping  wonder  for  an 
instant :  he  seemed  to  lose  consciousness  for 
a  minute  period  of  time,  and  then  he  found 
himself  in  the  middle  of  the  room  approaching 
the  woman.  He  went  within  arm's  reach  of 
her  and  stopped  to  gaze  once  more  upon  the 
well-beloved  features  that  he  had  not  hoped  to 
look  upon  again  in  life. 


6  2    THE  WITCH  OF  RANG  HO  SO  LED  AD. 

The  woman  stood  in  the  centre  of  the  room, 
her  eyes  closed,  her  hand  stretched  forth  as 
though  she  might  be  just  awakening  from  a 
sound  sleep.  She  was  clad  only  in  a  clinging 
white  garment  that  half  revealed  the  lines  of 
her  form,  and  her  dark  hair  showed  through  a 
gauzy  veil  that  covered  it.  The  man  gazed  at 
her  reverently,  spoke  her  name,  and  asked  if 
she  knew  him. 

"  I  know  you ;  yes,"  came  in  low,  faltering 
accents  from  the  woman's  lips.  "  I  know  not 
if  I  be  dead  or  living;  but  I  know  you — know 
you  and  love  you." 

The  man  would  have  clasped  her  to  his 
bosom,  but  just  then  the  other  woman  stepped 
from  behind  the  blue  curtains  and  placed  her 
finger  on  her  lips.  She  said  : 

"  Do  not  touch  her.  By  misery  and  des- 
peration you  have  been  so  prepared  that  no 
truth  is  terrible  to  you  ;  but  it  may  not  be  so 
with  her.  Her  life  is  given  up  to  meditating 
upon  beliefs  that  say  souls  leave  their  bodies 
but  once,  and  if  you  waken  her — for  she  is  in 
a  state  akin  to  sleep — you  may  unhinge  her 
mind.  You  have  seen  her :  you  must  be  con- 
tent with  that." 

"  Not  to  speak  to  her,  now  that  she  has 
come  back  to  me  almost  from  the  grave  !  Not 


I    know  you,  yes." 


. 


THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLED  AD.          65 

to  touch  her — oh,  that  is  cruel !  "  said  the 
man. 

"  You  may  speak  to  her,  then, — one  short 
sentence  or  two ;  but  do  not  touch  her,  and 
make  haste,"  said  the  strange  woman,  standing 
near,  as  if  to  prevent  the  man  from  touching 
the  form  that  stood  in  the  centre  of  the  room. 

The  man  approached  the  woman  he  loved 
and  spoke  to  her,  saying  words  that  caused 
the  closed  eyes  to  fill  with  tears, — which,  how- 
ever, seemed  to  be  happy  tears, — and  caused 
tears  to  come  to  the  eyes  of  the  other  woman. 

When  the  traveller  had  spoken  for  a  little 
time  he  involuntarily  turned  his  face  away  to 
hide  his  emotion,  and  when  he  looked  again 
the  form  of  the  sleeping,  or  entranced,  woman 
was  gone,  and  he  was  again  alone  with  the 
strange  woman  who  had  first  come  to  him. 
He  stood  for  a  time  in  a  dazed  stupor,  unable 
to  comprehend  the  strange  events  that  had 
filled  the  last  few  moments  of  his  life.  Then 
he  turned  and  threw  himself  face  downward 
on  the  couch  and  gave  up  his  mind  to  thoughts 
of  her  who  had  come  to  him  across  the  dis- 
tance and  the  darkness — who  had  miraculously 
come  to  him  while  he  sorrowed,  as  it  were,  in 
the  desert.  What  his  thoughts  were  no  man 
can  guess.  Had  he  been  of  a  morbid  temper- 


g£  THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLED  AD. 

ament  he  might  have  grieved  as  one  grieves 
who  sees  the  grave  yawning  before  him ;  but 
with  this  man,  whatever  his  thoughts  were, 
they  caused  him  presently  to  raise  his  head 
with  a  chastened,  half-happy  look  upon  his 
face.  He  turned  to  the  strange  woman  who 
was  again  sitting  by  the  couch,  and  asked  : 

"  What  are  you  called  ?  Are  you  a  sorceress  ? 
How  do  you  compass  these  strange  things  ? " 

"  I  am  called  the  Witch  of  Rancho  Sole- 
dad,"  gravely  replied  the  woman.  "  I  am  also 
known  to  some  as  the  Witch  of  the  Deserts 
of  Chihuahua,  and  under  that  name  a  not 
very  enviable  reputation  has  been  fastened 
upon  me,  of  which  you  may  have  heard.  It  is 
said  by  ignorant  ones  that  in  Chihuahua  I 
dwell  in  a  dark  cavern  ;  that  I  consort  with 
snakes  and  vultures  and  owls,  and  that  the 
beasts  of  the  desert  are  my  servants  and  do 
ill  deeds  at  my  bidding.  In  the  far  south,  in 
Peru  and  in  Chili,  I  am  known  by  the  name 
of  Raymeya ;  but  there  also  I  am  known  as  a 
witch,  and  they  call  me  the  deathless  one.  It 
is  true  that  I  know  things  that  are  not  known 
to  many  people ;  but  I  trust  that  to  you  I  need 
not  say  that  I  am  not  a  malignant  sorceress, 
and  that  I  am  not  in  league  with  the  powers 
of  evil." 


THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SO  LED  AD.          67 

"  But  your  strange  powers  ? " 

"  Have  you  not  heard  of  the  astral  body  that 
every  human  being  has  ?  "  replied  the  woman. 
"That  will  explain  the  occurrences  of  this 
night  to  you  as  far  as  I  have  time  to  explain 
them  now.  It  will  not  explain  them,  of  course, 
to  any  one  who  has  mental  power  to  endeavor 
to  trace  things  to  their  sources.  Men  see 
great  bodies  moved  by  wires,  and  the  thought- 
less say  it  is  done  by  electricity  ;  but  what  wise 
man  on  the  face  of  the  earth  can  say  what  that 
magic  electricity  really  is  ?  A  wise  man  once 
saw  an  apple  fall  from  its  branch  to  the  ground, 
and  he  explained  it  by  saying  it  was  due  to 
the  force  of  gravity ;  but  who  among  all  the 
wise  of  the  world  knows  what  is  gravity  ?  So 
in  telling  you  of  the  attributes  of  the  soul, — 
for  the  body  is  but  clay — I  would  be  telling 
you  of  things  that  you  could  not  understand, 
and  that  I  myself  do  not  understand  farther 
than  to  know  that  they  are  some  of  the  myste- 
rious truths  of  existence — mysterious  as  all 
truths  are." 

"  But  the  half  crazed  Mexican  ?  And  the 
wild  Indian  ?  Why  do  they  have  knowledge 
that  is  denied  to  me  ?  Why  may  I  not  know 
as  much  as  a  wild  man  ? " 

"  Speak  not  slightingly  of  wild  men,"  said 


58  THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLED  AD. 

the  woman  gravely.  "  Odin  (for  there  was  in 
reality  such  a  man)  was  a  wild  man ;  Moses 
was  a  wild  man,  and  likewise  Mahomet — wild 
in  the  ways  that  the  people  of  this  day  are 
taught  to  call  wild." 

The  woman  was  silent  for  a  time,  gazing 
upon  the  reclining  man  with  a  half-smiling, 
half-wistful  manner.  Suddenly  she  rose  and 
said  : 

"  I  think  that  some  time  I  may  see  you 
again  and  know  you  better,  and  perchance 
you  may  come  to  know  more  of  me.  I  know 
that  I  must  seem  a  mystery  to  you,  and  truly 
much  of  mystery  has  been  in  my  life.  The 
tale  of  my  life  is  a  strange  tale — stranger  than 
the  wildest  dreams  of  poets :  and  some  time 
1  may  tell  it  all  to  you,  but  not  to-night.  But 
know  this :  life  is  terrible,  yet  it  is  good  to 
have  lived ;  all  things  are  mysteries,  but  out 
of  these  mysteries  will  come  knowledge  and 
truth;  many  things  are  fearful,  but  there  is 
nothing  to  fear.  You  and  I  and  the  people 
we  know  and  the  deeds  we  do  and  the  mys- 
teries that  come  before  us  are  all  mere  parts 
in  an  infinite  purpose — a  purpose  that  will 
unfold  itself  as  time  and  eternity  go  on,  and 
as  it  unfolds  will  fill  us  with  wonder,  with  awe, 
with  love  and  devotion.  For  all  things  are 


THE  WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLED  AD.          69 

good.  They  seem  bad  only  because  we  do  not 
know  their  purpose.  Fear  not !  In  this  world, 
and  in  all  worlds,  all  is  well  with  those  who 
learn  to  wait.  And  now  farewell !  " 

The  woman — witch,  sorceress,  spirit,  what- 
ever she  was — was  gone  ;  the  traveller  was 
alone  in  the  dim  room  ;  the  languor  of  sleep 
was  stealing  through  his  veins,  and  the  moon 
was  going  down  and  leaving  the  world  in  dark- 
ness. The  traveller  slept  till  morning.  When 
he  awoke  he  went  to  the  outer  room  of  the 
house,  where  he  found  Ramon,  the  servant 
preparing  a  breakfast  for  him. 

The  servant  said  that  his  master  had  gone 
to  a  distant  rancho  upon  a  matter  of  business, 
and  as  he  was  compelled  to  start  early  in  the 
morning  he  had  not  disturbed  his  guest  to  say 
farewell.  The  traveller  asked  for  Mape-ah-sas 
the  Indian,  but  the  servant  said  curtly  that  he 
too  was  gone  ;  and  when  the  traveller  asked 
regarding  the  strange  woman  who  had  spent 
the  night  there,  the  servant  gazed  at  him 
dumbly  and  professed  not  to  understand. 

The  traveller  ate  his  frugal  breakfast,  and  as 
he  -could  gain  no  further  information,  he 
mounted  his  horse  and  set  out  to  ride  to  the 
little  town  of  Amargo,  which  place  was  a  long 
day's  journey  away.  He  rode  all  day,  not 


7° 


THE   WITCH  OF  RANCHO  SOLE  DAD. 


meeting  a  single  person,  and  just  as  the  sun 
was  setting  and  causing  long  shadows  to  fall 
behind  Archuleta  Mountain,  he  came  within 
sight  of  the  straggling  village.  Just  before  he 
reached  its  outskirts,  he  overtook  a  solitary 
horseman  riding  a  jaded  pony,  whom  he  found, 
upon  coming  up  with  him,  to  be  Mape-ah-sas 
the  Ute.  The  traveller  endeavored  to  talk  to 
the  Indian,  but  Mape-ah-sas  only  gazed  at  him 
in  a  dull,  surly  way,  said  "  No  sabe"  turned  his 
pony  down  a  by-road  and  galloped  away,  soon 
being  out  of  sight  among  the  pines  and 
pifions. 


LOTOKAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN 
WOMAN. 


THE  Indian  agency  of  the  allied  tribes  of 
the  Capota,  Moache,  and  Weeminuchee  Utes 
is  located  in  a  picturesque  part  of  the  valley  of 
the  little  river  in  Southwestern  Colorado,  to 
which  still  clings  the  old  Spanish  name  of 
Rio  de  los  Pinos, — the  River  of  the  Pines.  The 
little  adobe  huts  and  frame  houses  that  consti- 
tute the  agency,  stand  in  the  narrowest  part  of 
the  valley,  and  high  mesa  walls  rise  from  the 
river  on  either  side.  Far  away  in  the  distance, 
their  crests  showing  high  above  the  mesa  lines, 
can  be  seen  the  La  Plata  Mountains  and  the 
mountains  that  hem  in  grim  old  Cumbres  Pass. 

The  main  building  at  the  agency  is  a  long, 
huge  affair  built  of  logs,  with  a  "lean-to" 
addition  of  boards  at  either  end.  It  looks  like 

73 


74   LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 

a  fort,  and  indeed  its  walls  were  made  thick 
for  good  reasons.  The  doors  of  this  building 
open  toward  the  river,  and  there  is  a  platform 
of  rough  boards  that  runs  the  entire  length  of 
the  structure.  On  a  clear  day, — and  the  most 
of  the  days  are  clear,  with  a  crystalline  clear- 
ness not  known  to  lands  of  lower  altitude, — 
one  can  sit  on  this  porch  and  look  for  miles  up 
and  down  the  valley ;  watch  Indians  on  horse- 
back, racing  after  colts  or  cattle  ;  and  squaws, 
tanning  hides  or  cooking  over  rude  tripods. 

For  a  month  the  old  log  agency  building 
was  my  home.  During  the  day  I  lived  among 
the  Indians,  listening  to  their  strange  tales  of 
magic,  of  battles  and  hunts  of  the  golden  long 
ago,  before  the  day  of  reservations  and  Indian 
agents,  and  at  night — the  month  was  March — 
we  clustered  about  the  big  open  wood-fire  in 
the  doctor's  quarters,  and  talked  of  the  hun- 
dred thousand  things  that  isolated  men  with 
time  to  spare  can  find  to  talk  of. 

The  two  artists  who  shared  the  outing  with 
me  were  working  like  mad,  painting  every- 
thing in  sight  from  sprawling  pappooses  to 
dignified  council  meetings,  and  almost  every 
day  I  was  astride  a  canny  little  black  mare, 
racing  over  the  reservation — now  helping  to 
round  up  the  refractory  herd  of  an  Indian, 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN.    *jt 

now  going  with  the  doctor  to  see  some  sick 
baby  that  was  almost  suffocated  in  a  smoky 
can-nee,  and  then  just  riding  for  the  pure  joy 
of  riding.  That  little  black  mare  was  nearer 
human  than  any  horse  I  ever  knew  ;  she  would 
run  for  the  sheer  enjoyment  of  it,  and  she 
could  leap  like  a  jack-rabbit. 

One  midnight  found  me  sitting  on  the 
agency  porch  smoking  and  wondering  at  the 
beauty  of  the  brilliant  moonlight  that  filled  the 
valley.  About  two  hundred  yards  from  the 
building  was  a  cluster  of  can-nees,  or  tents,  one 
of  them  brilliantly  lighted  by  means  of  a  bright 
wood  fire,  and  sharp  at  midnight  there  went  up 
from  this  tent  a  chorus  of  as  weird,  unearthly 
wails  as  I  believe  a  white  man  has  ever 
listened  to.  I  knew  it  to  be  some  of  the 
"  medicine-making "  of  the  Indians,  and  I 
thought  indolently  of  going  to  the  place  to 
ascertain  if  any  of  the  Indians  who  were  my 
friends  were  there,  and  if  I  might  witness  the 
ceremony,  but  I  decided  that  I  was  too  lazy  to 
move. 

I  sat  so  for  half  an  hour,  listening  to  the 
wail  that  came  from  the  medicine  tent ;  and 
just  because  I  had  nothing  better  to  do,  I  was 
going  to  turn  in,  when,  without  a  sound,  old 
Lo-To-Kah  stood  before  me.  He  was  dressed 


7 6  LO-TO-KAH,  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 

in  full  native  costume  ;  an  eagle  feather  was 
in  his  hair,  and  he  was  wrapped  in  a  rich 
Navajo  blanket.  He  \vas  not  known  to  be  on 
the  reservation,  and  I  had  not  expected  to  see 
him. 

"  Lo-To-Kah  !  "  I  said  in  surprise,  "  where 
do  you  come  from  ?  Why  are  you  here  ? " 

"  I  am  here,  O  friend,  for  two  things. 
One  is  to  see  you,  for  Jose'  Amarillo  met  me 
in  the  Blue  Mountains  and  told  me.  And  the 
other  thing  I  am  here  for  is  to  be  present  at 
the  chant  of  the  Golden  Woman.  Do  you  not 
hear  the  chant  the  medicine  men  are  making  ? 
That  loudest  voice  is  that  of  Charvys,  the  fat 
pig  who  would  not  know  any  difference  between 
the  glorious  Golden  Woman  and  the  meanest 
squaw  who  runs  naked  on  the  Mojave  Desert." 

"  I  hear  the  chant,"  I  answered,  "  but  what 
is  it  all  about?  And  who  is  the  Golden 
Woman  ? " 

The  old  man  seemed  not  to  hear  me,  and 
he  gazed  away  down  the  valley  as  though  he 
saw  something.  As  though  speaking  to  him- 
self he  said : 

"She  of  the  golden  hair!  The  Golden 
Woman  with  the  heart  of  gold !  Ah  !  she 
was  more  beautiful  than  the  sun  in  the  sky  on 
a  May  morning !  " 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN.    77 

"  But  who  is  she,  or  was  she  ? "     I  asked. 

"  It  is  a  long  story,  O  friend  of  mine,  and  the 
night  grows  old,"  answered  Lo-To-Kah.  "To- 
morrow you  will  ride  with  the  mah-soot-quickct I 
to  the  Rio  Florida  to  witness  an  Indian  cere- 
mony performed  by  old  Mape-ah-sas  of  the 
squinting  eyes.  It  is  better  for  you  to  sleep 
to-night  than  to  listen  to  the  old  tale  of  the 
Golden  Woman.  Another  time  I  will  tell  the 
tale  to  you." 

He  made  a  pillow  of  his  blanket,  and 
leaned  restfully  against  the  log  wall  of  the 
building.  After  smoking  for  a  time  in  silence 
he  said  : 

"  The  tale  of  the  Golden  Woman  is  an  old 
tale  of  my  nation.  It  is  a  true  tale,  and  the 
things  of  which  it  tells  happened  in  the  old 
time  of  the  long,  long  ago — before  I  was  fully 
a  man  ;  before  I  had  ever  seen  Zeetah,  who 
became  my  wife.  Eighteen  summers  had  come 
into  my  life,  and  that  was  all,  and  I  was  but  a 
boy  when  the  Golden  Woman  was  brought  a 
captive  to  one  of  the  encampments  of  my 
people.  She  was  tied  to  a  horse,  riding  astride 
like  a  man,  and  she  was  so  weary  that  she 
swooned  from  faintness  and  fatigue  as  soon 
as  she  was  lifted  from  the  saddle.  I  have  but 

1  White  physician. 


•j 8    LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 

to  close  my  eyes,  and  in  memory  I  can  see 
that  beautiful  woman  again.  I  can  see  her 
fair  face,  her  eyes  as  blue  as  the  arch  of  the 
sky,  and  her  long  silken  hair  that  was  of  the 
glorious  color  of  molten  gold.  There  was  a 
time,  too, — just  a  fleeting  bit  of  time,  scarcely 
long  enough  to  be  remembered, — when  I 
gazed  upon  her  and  was  almost  sorry  my  skin 
was  red  instead  of  white  ;  for  I  thought  if  I 
had  been  white  and  had  been  of  the  blood  of 
her  race,  I  might  have  won  her  love.  Such 
thoughts  were  foolish  thoughts,  amigo ;  just 
stray,  half-formed  thoughts  that  wandered  un- 
asked into  the  empty  head  of  a  boy.  And,  too, 
that  was  before  Zeetah  had  ever  been  seen  by 
me." 

The  old  man  ceased  speaking.  He  leaned 
his  head  back  against  the  wall  of  the  old 
agency  building,  a  dreamy  look  came  into  his 
eyes,  and  he  gazed  down  the  valley.  His 
cigar  went  out.  I  lit  a  match  and  offered  it  to 
him,  but  he  did  not  see  it.  A  belated  Indian 
swain,  returning  to  his  tent  from  some  amorous 
expedition,  passed  us  and  spoke ;  but  Lo-To- 
Kah  did  not  stir.  His  mind  was  wandering 
back  to  that  old  time,  almost  three-quarters  of 
a  century  gone,  when  he  had  been  a  youth  and 
had  known  her  who  was  called  the  Golden 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN.    >jg 

Woman.  It  seemed  strange  to  me  that  Lo-To- 
Kah,  the  savage  nobleman  who  had  been  a  very 
knight  in  his  loyal  devotion  to  the  one  woman 
who  had  been  his  wife,  should  lose  himself  in 
a  flood  of  memories  of  a  woman  whom,  I  began 
to  believe,  he  had  loved  in  secret.  He  had 
had  but  one  wife  ;  and  if  a  lurking  love  slept 
in  his  heart  through  all  the  long  years  that  lay 
between  his  youth  and  his  old  age,  it  was  a 
secret  that  he  would  not  confess,  and  would 
not  even  give  a  hint  of  unless  in  some  un- 
guarded moment.  After  a  time  he  roused 
himself  and  said  : 

"  Pardon  me,  friend — I  was  dreaming  with- 
out being  asleep.  We  old  men,  when  we  live 
past  the  time  that  is  allotted  for  action,  live 
over  the  years  again  in  memory,  and  I  was 
living  over  again  a  time  that  was  old  before 
you  were  born.  I  will  now  go  on  with  my  tale  : 

"  When  I  was  a  boy,  and  esteemed  by  some 
of  the  vainglorious  warriors  as  being  too  young 
for  battle,  a  party  of  our  warriors  set  out  on  a 
raid  against  a  roving  band  of  Kiowas  that 
were  journeying  beyond  Tierra  Amarillo.  I 
desired  to  go  with  the  band,  and  could  have 
gone,  except  that  Mirdo,  who  was  a  sub-chief 
and  had  command  of  the  expedition,  said  that 
I  should  not.  This  Mirdo  had  longed  to  pos- 


So   LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 

sess  my  mother  when  she  was  a  girl,  and  be- 
cause she  would  not  wed  him,  he  hated  her 
and  my  father  and  myself.  Mirdo,  who  was 
on  his  horse,  stood  up  in  his  stirrups,  pointed 
his  goad  at  me  and  said  : 

"  '  I  go  forth  to  lead  men,  and  not  children, 
to  battle.  Yon  Lo-To-Kah  is  called  a  Ute, 
because  he  was  born  to  a  Ute  woman  ;  but  he 
acts  like  no  Ute.  He  is  now  old  enough  to  be 
a  man,  to  have  lovers,  to  cheat  slow  old  men 
out  of  the  kisses  of  their  young  wives,  and  to 
play  in  the  games  of  kan-yitte,  where  men  win 
horses  and  blankets.  He  is  not  a  man  in  love 
or  games,  and  he  will  not  be  a  man  in  war. 
He  cannot  go  with  any  band  I  lead.' 

"  I  stood  in  silence,  my  arms  crossed  upon 
my  breast,  and  listened  to  the  talk  of  Mirdo. 
And  as  he  talked  I  promised  to  myself  that  a 
time  should  be  when  I  would  hold  the  throat 
of  Mirdo  in  my  grasp  and  make  him  eat  his 
words  and  beg  for  his  life  like  a  craven.  But 
I  spoke  no  word  in  answer ;  for  an  Indian,  as 
you  know,  can  bide  his  time  when  he  promises 
himself  to  be  revenged  upon  his  enemies. 
And  Mirdo  and  his  band  rode  away,  their 
feathers  streaming  in  the  morning  sunlight, 
and  I  was  left  in  the  camp  with  the  women, 
the  children,  and  the  old  men. 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN.    83 

"  It  was  evening  when  our  warriors  returned 
— an  evening  two  weeks  after  they  had  gone 
forth,  an  hour  before  the  going  down  of  the 
sun,  when  from  far  over  that  mesa  which 
lies  toward  the  cruel  heights  of  Cumbres,  we 
heard  a  cry  of  '  ho-la-ho-ho  ! '  The  cry  was  a 
cry  of  victory.  Soon  the  men  came  in  sight, 
riding  one  ahead  of  another.  Both  men  and 
horses  showed  the  signs  of  long  travel  and 
hard  riding.  Mirdo  rode  at  the  head,  two 
fresh  Kiowa  scalps  flying  from  the  shoulder  of 
his  hunting-shirt ;  and  by  his  side,  strapped  to 
her  horse  and  riding  astride  like  a  man,  was 
the  fairest  and  most  beautiful  woman  that  ever 
trod  the  earth  in  the  valley  of  the  River  of  the 
Pines.  I  liked  not  Mirdo,  and  I  expected  to 
hear  him  insult  me ;  but  I  stood  among  the 
tents  to  greet  the  warriors.  Mirdo  rode  up 
with  a  flourish,  dismounted,  and  called  some 
old  women  to  come  and  unbind  the  woman. 
When  she  was  unbound  she  swooned,  but  she 
soon  recovered,  for  she  was  a  woman  who  was 
brave. 

" '  Who  is  the  woman  with  the  golden  hair, 
Mirdo  ? '  asked  an  old  man. 

"  '  She  is  my  captive,'  replied  Mirdo.  '  The 
Kiowas  took  her  from  the  Navajos,  and  I  took 
her  from  the  Kiowas.  She  is  mine  to  keep 


84  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 

my  tent ;  she  is  mine  to  enjoy ;  she  is  mine  to 
work  for  me.  I  am  Mirdo,  and  I  am  a  man 
without  fear — a  man  who  deserves  the  most 
beautiful  woman  in  the  land.' 

"  So  boasted  Mirdo ;  and  as  he  boasted  he 
looked  upon  the  woman  with  his  greedy  gaze, 
and  as  he  looked  she  cowered  and  shrunk. 
Then  I  spoke  to  the  woman,  asking  her  name 
and  whence  she  came.  The  woman  could  not 
understand  the  Ute  speech  ;  but  she  seemed 
to  feel  that  I  was  her  friend,  and  she  came 
close  to  me  and  held  out  her  hands  to  me  in 
appeal.  I  could  speak  the  Navajo  tongue 
also,  and  Mirdo  could  not;  and  I  spoke  to  the 
woman  in  that  speech,  and  she  answered  and 
asked  me  to  protect  her.  I  gave  answer  that 
I  would  protect  her  even  with  my  life.  And 
then  Mirdo  took  me  roughly  by  the  shoulder 
saying  : 

"  '  Speak  not  to  my  woman,  you  squaw  ! 
What !  Do  you  think  to  play  with  her  and 
prattle  to  her.  Get  you  to  your  mother's  tent ! ' 

"  Mirdo  stood  leering  into  my  eyes  ;  and  as 
soon  as  he  finished,  I  shot  my  clenched  fist 
into  his  face  and  felled  him  as  the  blow  of  a 
stone  axe  would  fell  a  sheep.  He  rose  to  his 
feet  and  drew  his  knife.  The  men  caught 
him  and  took  it  away,  and  said  that  Utes  must 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN.    85 

fight,  not  like  enemies,  but  with  their  naked 
hands.  Mirdo  cursed,  for  he  was  a  coward  at 
heart ;  but  he  liked  not  to  be  humiliated  be- 
fore the  woman  he  had  captured,  and  he  came 
on.  It  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  fought  a 
man.  When  Mirdo  came  within  reach  of  my 
fist,  I  sent  him  sprawling  in  the  sand  again, 
and  again  and  again,  as  fast  as  he  rose.  Then, 
after  I  had  almost  knocked  the  breath  from 
his  body,  while  he  was  lying  in  the  dirt,  I  put 
my  foot  upon  his  neck,  I  spat  upon  him,  I 
threw  dust  in  his  eyes,  and  then  I  gathered 
him  up  as  a  man  might  gather  a  log  of  wood, 
and  I  carried  him  to  the  river  and  threw  him 
in.  The  water  was  deep  enough  to  wet  the 
garments  of  Mirdo  and  to  fill  his  eyes  and 
mouth.  When  he  came  up,  I  said : 

" '  O  Mirdo !  you  coyote,  who  call  yourself 
a  chief,  look  upon  the  Golden  Woman,  who 
has  four  times  been  made  a  captive.  First 
this  woman  was  taken  by  the  Navajos,  and 
because  they  took  her  they  had  the  right  to  do 
with  her  as  they  liked.  Then  she  was  taken 
by  the  Kiowas,  who  had  the  same  right  for 
the  same  reason.  Then  she  was  taken  by  you, 
and  the  rights  of  the  other  thieves  became 
your  rights.  But  now  she  is  taken  by  me, 
mine  is  the  right  to  do  with  her  as  I  choose ; 


36  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 

and  it  will  fare  ill  with  any  man  who  dares  to 
so  much  as  lay  his  ringer  upon  her.' 

"  Mirdo  stood  glowering  at  me,  his  bleeding 
lip  hanging  and  a  look  of  murder  in  his  eyes, 
I  had  not  intended  to  strike  him  again,  but 
the  sight  of  his  big  brute  face  was  a  tempta- 
tion that  was  too  strong ;  and,  just  as  he  was 
ready  to  snarl  some  reply  to  the  speech  I  had 
made,  I  struck  him,  breaking  his  nose. 

"  Then  Mirdo  slunk  away,  cursing  me  as  he 
went.  He  vowed  that  he  would  leave  the 
tribe  and  lay  in  wait  for  me  in  the  forest. 
But  an  old  pwu-au-gut,  the  one  who  was  the 
teacher  of  old  Mape-ah-sas,  whom  you  know, 
said  to  Mirdo  that  he  was  a  coward,  and  that 
if  he  ever  sought  to  do  me  wrong  save  in  a  fair 
fight  or  open  battle,  he  would  cause  the  evil 
spirit  to  haunt  him  all  the  days  of  his  life. 
You  know,  amigo,  that  no  Ute  would  incur  the 
danger  of  a  pwu-au-gufs  curse  ;  and  I  knew 
that  I  was  safe. 

"  Then  the  old  men  said  the  woman  was 
mine  and  that  I  had  fairly  won  her.  I  took 
her  to  my  mother's  tent,  but  with  no  thought 
of  making  her  my  slave  or  my  wife  as  Mirdo 
would  have  done.  I  told  her  that  she  was 
safe  from  all  danger,  and  then  I  sat  down  on 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN,    g* 

the  ground  before  the  tent  and  thought.  I 
tried  to  think  of  Mirdo  and  the  battle  I  had 
fought  with  him ;  but  I  could  not  think  of 
him,  because  I  was  thinking  of  the  Golden 
Woman  who  had  come  into  my  life  so  strangely. 
I  sat  there  all  the  night,  keeping  guard  over 
the  tent,  and  wondering  what  the  days  of  the 
future  would  bring  forth. 

"  From  that  time  on  life  was  different  to  me. 
Before  then  I  had  been  a  lonely,  silent  boy, 
wandering  in  the  forests  or  sitting  aside  while 
the  men  and  boys  played  games.  But  it  was 
not  long  until  the  Golden  Woman  became  my 
friend  and  then  my  companion  ;  and  we  talked 
to  each  other  and  wandered  together  in  the 
forests,  and  rode  ponies  from  one  encamp- 
ment of  my  people  to  another.  Not  at  first, 
of  course  ;  for  at  first  the  woman  was  timid 
and  half  afraid.  She  was  afraid  of  my  people, 
and  also  afraid  of  me,  for  she  knew  I  could 
make  her  my  slave  or  my  wife  if  I  cared  so  to 
do.  But  she  besought  me  not  to  take  her  to 
wife,  and  I  placed  my  hand  in  hers  and  told 
her  I  would  guard  her,  and  that  her  life  should 
be  lived  as  she  desired.  It  was  after  that — 
after  she  had  thanked  me  and  kissed  my  hand 
— that  she  became  my  companion. 

"A  few   times   the  woman  was  affronted. 


gS   LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 

One  burly  man  of  my  tribe,  when  drunk  upon 
Mexican  mescal,  attempted  to  embrace  her. 
I  was  sitting  in  front  of  our  tents  at  the  time, 
fitting  heads  to  arrows  ;  but  her  first  cry  took 
me  to  her  side,  and  when  I  had  been  there 
but  a  little  time  the  brute  lay  upon  the  ground 
in  a  stupor  that  came  very  near  being  death. 
I  was  mad  with  anger,  and  after  I  had  felled 
the  man  to  the  ground  and  knocked  him 
senseless,  I  sprang  upon  his  body  and  trampled 
his  face  in  the  dirt.  Then  I  took  the  Golden 
Woman  in  my  arms,  as  a  mother  might  take  a 
babe,  and  bore  her  to  my  tent.  When  we 
were  inside  the  tent,  she  placed  one  of  her 
soft  arms  about  my  neck ;  she  drew  my  face 
down  to  hers  and  kissed  me,  crying  as  she  did 
so.  Her  kiss  thrilled  me  through  and  through, 
and  I  was  in  danger  of  forgetting  my  promise. 
And  I  told  her  if  she  desired  me  to  keep  the 
promises  I  had  given,  she  must  kiss  me  no 
more.  It  seemed  for  a  moment  as  though 
she,  too,  were  tired  of  the  promise  ;  for  she 
held  my  hand  in  hers,  and  looked  wistfully 
into  my  eyes. 

"  After  the  fear  of  my  people  left  her,  it 
came  about  that  she  would  go  among  them. 
At  first  she  went  only  to  the  women  and  chil- 
dren ;  but  it  was  not  long  until  she  went 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN.    89 

among  all,  even  the  chiefs  and  medicine  men. 
When  a  child  was  born  in  some  cold  tent  on  a 
hillside,  the  Golden  Woman  was  there.  When 
a  woman  or  a  child  was  sick,  there  was  the 
woman ;  and  when  a  plague  came  upon  our 
people, — when  the  men  died  in  their  tracks  as 
they  stood  in  the  camp  ground,  and  little 
children  were  daily  found  dead  in  the  arms  of 
their  dead  mothers, — then  it  was  that  the 
people  of  the  Ute  nation  learned  to  love  the 
glorious  being  whom  we  named  the  Golden 
Woman.  She  comforted  the  sorrowing,  cared 
for  the  sick,  and  prepared  the  dead  for  burial. 
She  seemed  sleepless  and  tireless  ;  and  every 
hour  of  the  day  and  night  while  the  plague 
lasted  she  would  be  seen  flitting  from  one 
tent  to  another,  making  tasteful  things  for  the 
sick  ones  to  eat,  and  bathing  the  hot  brows 
of  those  who  were  in  the  throes  of  death. 
Our  people  believed  she  was  a  medicine- 
woman  sent  from  the  bright  land  that  lies  in 
the  sun.  Then  some  men  came  from  the  other 
Ute  tribes,  and  they  took  home  to  their  people 
the  tale  of  this  Golden  Woman,  whose  heart 
was  said  to  be  of  pure  gold.  And  thus  it 
came  to  be  that  this  woman  was  looked  upon 
by  us  almost  as  a  goddess,  and  that  feasts  and 
chanting  are  yet  given  in  her  honor. 


go    LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 

"  There  are  not  many  secrets  among  In- 
dians who  live  in  one  encampment,  and  the 
people  knew  that  the  woman  was  not  my  wife. 
I  had  another  can-nee  made,  joining  the  one 
my  mother  had  before,  and  I  lived  in  the  outer 
one. 

"  In  time  I  taught  her  the  Ute  speech,  and 
in  time  she  told  me  something  of  her  life.  She 
was  born  in  a  great  city  in  the  East,  and  had 
gone  to  the  West  to  be  a  missionary  among 
the  Indians.  She  first  lived  with  a  band  of 
peaceful  Navajos,  and  learned  their  speech ; 
then  she  went  to  El  Paso  del  Norte  for  rest. 
Between  El  Paso  del  Norte  and  Ciudad  Santa 
Fe  she  had  been  captured  by  a  roving  band  of 
Navajos  ;  but  before  they  had  reached  their 
camp  they  were  beaten  in  battle  with  Kiowas, 
and  the  Kiowas  had  taken  her.  The  Kiowas 
started  for  their  own  country  and  were  sur- 
rounded by  the  Utes  under  Mirdo.  In  this 
way  she  had  been  stolen  by  one  tribe  after 
another,  and  so  swiftly  that  no  harm  had  be- 
fallen her. 

"  More  than  this  the  woman  did  not  tell  me, 
thinking  because  I  was  an  Indian  I  would  not 
understand.  But  I  learned  in  time  that  she 
had  journeyed  to  the  wild  lands  of  the  West 
because  of  an  almost  hopeless  hope  that  she 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMEN,    gj 

might  find  her  lover,  who  had  come  to  the  West 
and  had  never  been  heard  of  again. 

"  But  as  time  went  on,  the  Golden  Woman 
grew  silent  as  she  went  about  her  work  of 
healing  the  sick.  I  fancied  that  she  tired  of 
dwelling  in  my  can-nee,  and  when  I  asked  her, 
she  said  it  would  please  her  if  she  might  dwell 
alone.  It  is  not  well  for  a  woman  to  dwell 
alone,  especially  if  the  woman  be  young  and 
as  beautiful  as  a  spirit,  and  I  would  not  give 
my  consent;  but  an  old  Navajo  woman,  who 
had  been  taken  captive,  and  who  had  grown 
too  old  to  work,  also  desired  to  live  apart 
from  the  others.  So  the  two  women,  the  fair 
young  one  and  the  wrinkled  old  one,  had  a 
hut  built  in  a  sheltered  part  of  the  valley  of 
the  Rio  Florida,  and  there  they  took  up  their 
abode.  They  tilled  some  land,  and  hunters 
brought  them  much  game,  and  they  did  not 
want  for  anything.  The  other  people  did  not 
at  first  note  the  change  that  was  taking  place 
in  the  Golden  Woman  ;  but  I,  who  knew  her 
as  well  as  though  she  were  my  sister  or  daugh- 
ter, knew  that  she  was  becoming  crazed. 

"  After  this  the  years  sped  on,  and  I  lived 
my  life  as  it  came  to  me.  I  met  Zeetah,  and 
took  her  to  be  my  wife.  I  became  a  chief 
among  my  people,  and  much  honor  came  to 


02    LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 

me.  My  mother  died,  my  brother  was  killed 
by  the  Apaches,  and  many  adventures  of 
many  kinds  befell  me.  Often  I  journeyed 
to  the  ends  of  the  lands  that  were  known 
to  my  people,  and  often  the  time  was  long 
between  my  visits  to  these  valleys.  But 
whenever  I  came  I  went  to  the  hut  of  the 
Golden  Woman — going  alone,  as  Zeetah  did 
not  like  to  go  with  me.  And  always  I  found 
the  woman  living  as  I  had  left  her,  alone  with 
the  old  Navajo  woman.  The  hair  of  the 
Golden  Woman  became  longer  and  more 
golden,  her  eyes  seemed  to  become  larger 
and  more  blue,  and  her  fair  form  grew 
into  the  very  perfection  of  loveliness.  But 
even  the  people  who  cared  little  for  beauty 
or  goodness  in  women  came  to  see  that  she 
was  becoming  crazed  ;  and  then  she  was  safe 
for  a  certainty,  for  no  Indian  will  harm  those 
who  are  demented. 

"  One  time  I  took  my  band  of  people  and 
went  into  the  West,  and  for  almost  two  years 
we  did  not  see  the  Valley  of  the  Pines.  After 
a  time  we  began,  very  slowly,  to  make  our 
way  homeward  again,  but  going  only  by  short 
marches,  and  hunting  and  fishing  by  the  way. 
While  we  were  encamped  in  a  valley  in  the 
Blue  Mountains,  a  man  came  to  our  camp, 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN.    Q^ 

being  on  his  way  from  this  valley  to  visit  one 
of  our  tribes  in  the  place  that  is  now  Utah. 
And  when  he  visited  us  he  told  me  that  the 
Golden  Woman  was  sick  in  her  hut,  and  that 
the  old  Navajo  woman  was  also  sick  and  had 
lost  her  mind.  Then  I  told  Zeetah  what  I  in- 
tended doing,  and  I  saddled  my  fleetest  horse 
and  set  out  for  this  place,  hoping  to  see  the 
woman  again  before  she  died,  or  perchance  to 
save  her  life. 

"  I  had  not  been  to  the  hogan  of  the  two 
women  for  two  years,  and  I  scarcely  knew  the 
place  as  I  came  to  it.  The  building  in  which 
the  women  lived  was  somewhat  like  the  hogans 
of  the  Navajos  or  the  ivick-e-ups  of  the  Utes,  but 
it  was  also  better  than  any  hogan  or  wick-e-iep 
I  ever  saw.  Wild  flowers  were  trained  before 
the  building,  wild  vines  clambered  over  it,  and 
behind  it  was  a  little  irrigated  field,  in  which 
corn  and  other  things  were  growing.  When  I 
came  to  the  place  I  dismounted  and  went  with- 
in. Upon  a  shelf-like  bed  built  into  the  wall  lay 
the  old  Navajo  woman,  dead.  And  seated  on 
the  floor,  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  her 
wealth  of  golden  hair  falling  all  about  her,  sat 
the  Golden  Woman,  moaning  and  rocking  her- 
self to  and  fro.  I  stood  in  the  door  and  gazed 
upon  her,  and  it  was  long  before  she  heeded 


96    LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 

me.  In  time,  though,  she  saw  me,  and  smiled 
a  sad,  sad  smile  that  almost  broke  my  heart. 
And  she  said  : 

" '  So  you  have  returned  to  me,  Lo-To-Kah. 
Did  you  find  Hugh  ? ' 

"  I  had  never  heard  of  any  man  named 
Hugh,  and  I  knew  not  what  answer  to  make. 
I  stood  in  silence,  trying  to  think,  and  the 
woman  got  up  from  her  seat  on  the  floor. 
She  came  and  stood  by  my  side  and  took  my 
hand  in  hers. 

" '  Lo-To-Kah,  I  have  been  crazed.  For 
how  long  I  do  not  know,  but  I  know  that 
when  last  a  glimmer  of  reason  and  memory 
was  left  to  me  the  Navajo  woman  was  living 
and  was  well ;  and  now  you  see  she  lies  dead. 
It  must  be  that  I  am  very  ill,  and  it  may  be 
that  I  too  will  soon  lie  dead  in  this  little  hut. 
Now,  when  I  am  dead,  I  desire  that  you  go 
forth  and  journey  among  the  white-faced 
peoples  until  you  find  a  man  named  Hugh ; 
and  when  you  find  him,  tell  him  that  Helen 
died  with  his  name  on  her  lips,  and  that  the 
love  of  him  was  the  only  love  that  ever  was  in 
her  heart.' 

"  She  sank  down  on  the  floor  again,  and 
before  I  could  think  of  an  answer  to  make,  I 
heard  a  shout  from  outside,  and  upon  looking 


LO-TO-KAII  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN.    97 

I  saw  a  small  party  of  Navajo  warriors  riding 
toward  the  wlck-e-up.  I  did  not  fear  the 
Navajos,  for  our  tribes  were  then  at  peace. 
And  when  they  came  nearer  I  saw  that  a  white 
man  was  with  them.  I  was  glad  of  this  ;  for 
I  knew  not  how  to  set  about  the  task  of  find- 
ing this  Hugh,  and  thought  perhaps  the  white 
man  could  tell  me.  I  told  the  Golden  Woman 
to  look,  but  at  first  she  paid  no  heed,  and  she 
would  pay  no  heed  until  the  party  of  riders 
had  drawn  up  their  horses  and  stopped  before 
the  door.  Then  the  woman  rose  to  her  feet ; 
she  brushed  her  long  hair  out  of  her  eyes,  and 
with  me  she  went  out.  As  she  stepped  out- 
side the  door  I  saw  the  white  man  leap  from 
his  horse  with  a  great  shout.  The  woman 
saw  him  the  same  instant,  and  stopped  in  her 
tracks  as  though  she  had  been  stricken  with  a 
palsy.  The  two  white-faced  people  stood  in 
mute,  wondering  silence  for  an  instant ;  then 
the  man  called  out  the  name  '  Helen.'  He 
sprang  forward  and  clasped  the  woman  in  his 
arms,  and  all  the  time  he  wept  as  a  mother 
might  weep  who  had  found  a  long  lost-child. 
I  thought  at  first  the  man  might  be  her  father, 
for  he  seemed  older  than  she  ;  but  he  was  not 
her  father — he  was  her  lover.  The  woman 
nestled  in  his  arms,  and  then  for  the  first  time 


gg   LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 

in  long  years  I  saw  the  light  of  perfect  reason 
shining  in  her  eyes;  and  for  the  first  time 
since  I  knew  her  I  saw  her  with  a  happy  look. 

"And  then  he  saw  me,  and  at  once  he 
stood  as  straight  and  firm  as  though  he  were 
made  of  stone.  '  Is  this  woman  your  wife  ? ' 
he  asked  in  a  fierce  tone. 

"  '  Is  she  your  wife  ? '  I  asked  in  turn. 

"  The  man  flushed  hot  and  red  ;  for  a  mo- 
ment he  did  not  speak,  and  then  he  hung  his 
head  and  said :  '  No,  God  forgive  me,  she  is 
not.  You  have  as  much  right  to  her  as  I.' 

"'Why,  Hugh,  what  is  all  this  talk  of 
right  ? '  asked  the  woman,  looking  curiously 
into  his  face. 

"  The  face  of  the  man  hung  lower  and  lower  ; 
his  cheeks  grew  first  red  and  then  white,  and 
he  said,  '  It  means,  dear  one,  that  I  gave  you 
up  as  dead,  and  married  another  woman.' 

"  And  then  the  Golden  Woman  lay  on  the 
ground  at  his  feet,  in  a  faint  that  seemed  like 
death.  And  the  man  took  her  face  in  his 
hands,  and  kissed  her  lips,  and  wept  over  her 
as  one  weeps  over  the  dead.  It  was  a  sad 
thing  to  see,  friend,  sadder  than  I,  at  that 
time,  could  understand.  For  then  I  knew 
only  the  ways  of  the  Indians,  and  it  seemed 
to  me  that  if  the  woman  loved  the  man,  and 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  U'OMAN.    99 

the  man  loved  her  better  than  the  other  wo- 
man, who  was  his  wife,  that  he  could  cast  off 
his  wife  and  take  the  Golden  Woman  in  her 
stead. 

"In  time  the  woman  recovered,  and  it 
seemed  to  me  that  the  shifting  light  of  lunacy 
was  again  beginning  to  come  into  her  eyes  ; 
and  I,  knowing  no  better,  stood  by  their  sides 
as  they  talked,  and  I  learned  that  the  man  who 
was  named  Hugh  had  been  the  lover  of  the 
woman,  Helen,  and  was  to  have  taken  her  for 
his  wife.  He  was  an  officer  of  the  white- 
skinned  soldiers,  and  had  gone  into  the  West, 
and  the  report  had  gone  back  to  his  home  that 
he  was  dead.  Then  it  was  that  the  first  touch 
of  lunacy  fell  upon  the  woman,  but  she  did 
not  believe  him  dead  ;  and  saying  she  was  go- 
ing as  a  missionary  among  the  Indians,  she 
went  to  the  West  to  seek  him.  She  was  capt- 
ured, as  I  have  told  you.  And  the  man,  who 
had  not  been  killed,  in  time  returned  to  his 
home  in  the  East,  and  found  that  the  woman 
had  gone ;  and  he  believed  her  dead,  and  he 
had  married  another  woman.  He  told  the 
blue-eyed  Helen  that  the  woman  who  was  his 
wife  was  cold  and  proud  and  haughty,  and 
that  he  did  not  love  her  and  she  did  not  love 
him. 


\r>QLO-TO-KAH,  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 

" '  But  she  is  your  wife,'  said  Helen. 

" '  Yes,  God  pity  me,  she  is  my  wife,'  an- 
swered the  man,  his  eyes  upon  the  ground. 

"  What  more  they  said  I  do  not  know,  for  I 
went  with  the  men  to  help  bury  the  old  Navajo 
woman  ;  and  while  we  were  thus  at  work,  the 
white  man  and  woman  talked,  and  the  Navajos 
talked  to  me.  They  told  me  that  the  white 
man  was  a  man  who  had  first  come  to  their 
country  to  fight  them,  but  that  he  had  become 
their  friend,  and  that  more  than  a  year  before 
he  had  come  among  them  to  live,  telling 
them  only  that  he  was  not  happy  in  his  own 
home.  And  I  knew  that  he  had  left  his  wife, 
and  would  never  call  her  wife  again,  whether 
Helen  married  him  or  not. 

"  When  we  had  buried  the  old  woman  and 
returned  to  \hehogan,  the  man  and  the  woman 
were  still  talking,  both  speaking  in  the  Navajo 
tongue,  which  had  come,  from  long  usage,  to 
be  the  same  to  them  as  the  tongue  of  their 
own  people.  And  I,  knowing  the  thing  that 
was  troubling  them,  asked  if  a  runner  might 
not  be  sent  to  the  white  man's  home  to  learn 
if  his  wife  still  lived,  in  order  that  he  might 
take  the  Golden  Woman  to  wife.  The  man 
said  that  could  not  be  done  ;  then  he  mused 
a  while,  and  said  to  me  : 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLD  Eft 

" '  Do  you  know  the  trails  that  lead  to 
Santa  Fd?' 

"  '  I  do,'  I  replied. 

"  The  man  took  a  paper-book  from  his 
pocket,  tore  out  a  leaf,  wrote  upon  it,  and 
asked  me  how  much  gold  I  would  require  of 
him  to  carry  that  to  Santa  Fe*.  I  replied 
that  I  would  not  do  it  for  gold,  but  would  do 
it  for  the  Golden  Woman.  He  told  me  the 
paper  was  for  a  man  who  lived  in  Santa  Fe', 
and  was  to  ask  him  to  write  to  the  East  and 
learn  if  the  woman  who  was  his  wife  still 
lived.  I  was  told  to  give  it  to  the  man,  and 
then  in  six  weeks'  time  the  man  said  he  would 
send  to  Santa  ¥6  again,  and  get  a  letter  that 
would  let  him  know  what  he  sought  to  know. 
I  took  the  leaf  of  paper  and  said  I  would  go. 
and  that  I  would  also  tarry  in  Santa  Ft?,  if  he 
desired,  until  the  answer  came  out  of  the  East. 

" '  But  the  time  will  be  so  long,'  said  the 
man,  and  there  was  a  look  of  great  yearning 
in  his  eyes.  '  The  time  will  be  long,  Helen,' 
he  continued,  '  and  when  the  answer  comes  I 
fear  it  will  have  no  hope  in  it  for  us.  We  are 
here  in  the  West,  away  from  our  people  and 
away  from  the  things  they  know  and  do.  Let 
us  abide  here,  among  these  Indians,  who  are 
our  friends,  and  let  us  spend  the  remainder 


\QlLO-TO-K'AH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 

of  our  days  in  peace,  which  we  have  never  yet 
known.  Let  me  write  to  Sante  Fe',  or  send 
word  by  a  runner,  saying  we  are  both  dead. 
Then  let  us  live  here  in  this  little  valley,  alone 
with  each  other  and  love.' 

" '  It  cannot  be  ;  it  must  not  be,'  said  the 
woman.  But  as  she  spoke  her  voice  was  very 
low,  and  her  eyes  were  cast  upon  the  floor. 

" '  Do  you  love  me  ? '  asked  the  man. 

"  Friend,  in  the  eyes  of  a  woman  was  never 
seen  such  a  look  as  was  in  the  eyes  of  the 
woman,  Helen,  when  she  looked  upon  her 
lover.  She  took  his  face  between  her  hands  ; 
she  drew  his  head  down  upon  her  breast  and 
kissed  him,  and  she  answered  no  word. 

"  Then  the  man  said  :  '  Helen,  I  believe 
my  wife  is  living,  and  I  believe  there  is  no 
way  that  I  can  have  your  love.  I  think  it  is 
best  for  me  to  go  away  from  the  Indians,  with 
whom  I  have  cast  my  lot  and  go  back  to  my 
wife  and  my  people,  and  be  an  honest  man  if 
I  can.  But  I  cannot  go  away  unless  your  love 
is  mine,  if  but  for  one  fleeting  hour.  Think  ! 
An  hour  is  so  little  out  of  a  long,  lonely  life- 
time. Cannot  we  live  this  night,  just  this  one 
short  night,  as  though  we  were  the  only  two 
people  upon  the  earth — as  though  I  had  never 
lost  you  ? ' 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN.  ^^ 

"  A  great,  yearning,  hungry  look  came  into 
the  woman's  eyes — such  a  look  as  I  never  saw 
before,  and  but  once  since ;  the  time  since 
being  when  I  saw  that  look  in  the  eyes  of 
Raymeya.  The  woman  again  said,  '  No,'  but 
she  spoke  so  faintly  that  scarcely  could  her 
voice  be  heard. 

" '  But  think,'  continued  the  white  man, 
'  that  we  may  never  see  each  other  again. 
We  came  together  to-day  as  two  people  from 
two  graves  ;  neither  of  us  hoped  to  see  the 
other  again  in  life.  Let  us  forget, — justfor  one 
short  day  let  us  forget  everything  but  that 
we  live  and  love.' 

"  The  woman's  head  was  pillowed  upon  the 
shoulder  of  the  man,  and  the  man  had  won 
the  contest  that  it  gave  the  woman  so  much 
joy  to  lose.  And  the  Navajos  and  myself 
went  down  the  valley  and  made  a  shelter  of 
the  bushes  of  chaparral,  and  we  left  the  two 
white  people  alone. 

"  The  next  day  I  was  told  that  the  white 
man  was  going  to  send  one  of  his  Navajos  to 
Santa  Fe,  and  that  the  woman  desired  me  to 
stay  with  her  until  the  courier  came  back.  I 
talked  to  her  but  she  did  not  hear  half  I  said, 
and  she  seemed  so  happy  that  she  would  smile 
when  no  one  was  speaking  to  her.  The  time 


\0*(LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 

went  on  thus  for  a  long,  long  time ;  and  then 
the  white  man,  as  I  had  done  once  before, 
seemed  to  have  become  the  companion  and 
friend  of  the  woman.  They  gathered  flowers 
together,  and  wandered  in  the  woods  hand  in 
hand,  like  two  children;  but  there  was  little 
talk  of  love  between  them,  for  this  the  woman 
would  not  permit  until  the  courier  re- 
turned. 

"  As  the  time  drew  near  for  the  courier  to 
return,  both  the  man  and  the  woman  became 
troubled  ;  and  often  they  would  anxiously  gaze 
away  over  the  mesas  as  though  hoping,  yet 
fearing,  for  the  return  of  the  runner  and  for 
the  news  he  would  bring.  I  sent  a  runner  to 
my  camp  to  tell  Zeetah  why  I  should  be  away ; 
and  although  I  greatly  respected  the  two  white 
people,  I  thought  they  were  fools.  For  if  they 
had  been  wise,  they  would  have  lived  and 
loved,  and  forgotten  the  East,  and  paid  no 
heed  to  the  going  and  coming  of  runners. 
And  when  the  time  came  for  the  return  of  the 
runner,  I  too  began  to  grow  restless ;  and  I 
would  go  far  down  the  valley,  many  miles  be- 
low where  the  rancho  of  Sevaro  now  is,  to  try 
to  meet  him.  And  it  chanced  that  I  met  the 
runner  fully  two  hours'  ride  away  from  the 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN.  105 

" '  Ho  !  Navajo,  what  news  ? '  I  asked  as 
soon  as  the  man  came  near. 

"  '  The  wife  of  the  white  man  lives,'  replied 
the  Navajo. 

"The  reply  so  angered  me  that  I  almost 
struck  the  man,  for  I  knew  how  it  would  grieve 
the  Golden  Woman  and  the  man  she  loved. 
You  know,  friend,  that  only  Indians  with  evil 
hearts  will  lie.  But  at  that  time  I  resolved  to 
lie,  or  to  induce  the  Navajo  to  lie,  which  was 
as  bad.  And  I  said  to  the  Navajo,  whom  I 
knew  well : 

" '  Do  you  know  the  cayuse  that  is  in  my 
herd — the  one  with  the  glossy  hair,  that  can 
run  like  a  deer  and  leap  like  an  antelope  ?' 

" '  I  know  that  pony,'  said  the  man.  '  If  it 
were  mine,  many  are  the  blankets  I  would  win 
with  it  in  races.' 

"  '  It  is  yours,'  I  replied,  '  if  you  will  forget 
this  foolish  message  that  was  told  to  you  by 
the  white  man  in  Santa  Fe',  and  will  tell  the 
white  man  and  the  Golden  Woman  that  the 
wife  in  the  East  is  dead.' 

"  '  But  the  writing  that  I  carry  will  tell  the 
truth,'  said  the  Navajo,  his  eyes  shining  at 
thought  of  my  cayuse. 

"  '  Tear  up  the  writing  and  say  you  lost  it,' 
said  I.  A  strange  thins:  was  that  I  did  not 


lo(^LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 

feel  like  a  mean  man,  even  when  I  advised 
such  things. 

"  And  the  Navajo  tore  up  the  writing  and 
then  galloped  to  the  hogan  with  his  lying  mes- 
sage. And  when  I  returned  I  saw  two  happier 
people  than  I  had  ever  seen  before.  Food 
was  cooked  and  we  all  partook  of  it ;  but 
while  we  were  eating  we  heard  the  sound  of  a 
horse's  hoofs,  and  a  rider  stopped  at  the  door. 
The  Navajo  looked  frightened,  and  whispered 
to  me  that  the  new-comer  was  a  half-breed 
courier  from  Santa  Fe'.  The  man  gave  a  letter 
to  Hugh,  and  when  he  read  it  he  said : 

"  '  This  is  another  message  saying  my  wife 
is  dead,  and  saying  the  news  had  been  learned 
after  my  own  courier  had  started  on  his 
return.' 

"  It  seemed  strange  to  Hugh  and  Helen 
that  two  messages,  each  alike,  should  be  sent 
so  near  together,  and  yet  one  to  say  the  news 
was  learned  between  the  going  of  the  couriers. 
But  they  were  so  happy  that  they  heeded  little, 
and  I  gave  the  cayuse  to  the  Navajo  anyhow, 
for  he  had  done  what  he  could  to  earn  it." 

Lo-To-Kah  pulled  a  gold  hunting-case  watch 
from  some  fold  or  pocket  in  his  garments, 
looked  at  it  leisurely,  and  asked  me  for  a 
match. 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN.  Ioy 

"  But  the  Golden  Woman  ? "  I  asked. 
"  What  became  of  her  ?  " 

"  She  is  dead,"  answered  the  old  man, 
lapsing  into  the  stolidity  of  his  race. 

"But  what  befell  her  before  she  died? 
Come,  tell  me  the  remainder  of  her  story." 

"  I  knew  a  man  once,  a  Jicarilla  Apache, 
who  was  as  crazy  in  his  desire  to  eat  wild 
honey  as  you  are  crazy  to  hear  every  word  of 
even  the  longest  stories,"  said  Lo-To-Kah 
smiling.  "  But  I  will  tell  you  the  little  there 
is  yet  to  tell.  The  man  and  the  woman  talked 
long  about  returning  to  their  own  land  and 
their  own  people ;  but  the  wilderness,  the 
forests,  and  the  wild  life  have  many  charms 
for  those  who  have  had  sore  hearts,  and  they 
like  not  to  return  to  the  clanging  cities  and 
the  unwise  ways  of  their  kind.  And  Hugh, 
the  white  soldier,  and  Helen,  the  Golden 
Woman,  agreed  with  each  other  that  they 
would  abide  in  the  wild  lands  of  the  West. 
They  went  away  that  night,  telling  me  not  to 
say  that  I  knew  aught  of  their  going ;  and  I 
did  not  learn  more  of  them  for  many  long 
years.  My  people  believed  that  Helen  had 
been  an  enchanted  woman,  and  that  she  had 
vanished  in  the  air  and  gone  to  her  home  in 
the  sun.  I  said  nothing  to  change  their  be- 


IOS  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 

lief  ;  and  they  began  the  chant  of  the  Golden 
Woman,  and  the  custom  has  lasted  through 
all  the  years  since  then. 

"  After  that  time  I  knew  no  more  of  the 
Golden  Woman  for  ten  long  years.  Then  I 
was  riding  alone,  going  to  a  great  medicine 
ceremony  on  the  river  Gila,  to  which  all  men 
must  go  alone.  While  I  was  riding  across  the 
desert  I  came  to  a  fertile  little  valley,  hidden 
away  among  cliffs,  from  which  I  saw  smoke 
arising.  I  thought  it  must  be  the  encampment 
of  some  wandering  Indians,  and  I  approached 
it  with  caution.'  And  when  I  rode  nearer  to 
the  place  I  saw  in  the  valley  a  house  built  of 
stone,  and  it  was  surrounded  by  fields  of  corn 
and  melons  and  trees.  And  I  rode  to  the 
house,  and  upon  a  porch  that  was  covered 
with  the  boughs  of  trees,  there  sat  a  man  and 
a  woman.  The  man  was  Hugh,  the  white 
soldier,  and  the  woman  was  Helen,  the  Golden 
Woman.  They  were  glad  to  see  me,  and  I 
was  treated  like  a  chief  returning  from  a  long 
absence.  But  I  was  grieved  to  note  that  the 
woman  was  again  partially  insane.  She  knew 
me,  she  knew  her  husband  as  well  as  ever; 
but  she  had  forgotten  many  things  that  took 
place  in  the  East.  The  man  told  me  that  they 
had  builded  that  rancho  and  lived  there  alone, 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  GOLDEN  WOMAN. 


109 


but  that  once  each  year  they  went  to  Santa 
Fe  or  some  other  Mexican  town  for  supplies. 
And  he  said  that  he  was  happier,  living  alone 
with  his  wife  in  the  wilderness,  than  he  would 
have  been  if  he  had  been  a  king,  and  had  not 
had  her  with  him.  And  I  believe  I  under- 
stood, in  a  dim  way,  how  this  might  be  a  true 
thing  that  he  said." 


LO-TOKAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 


LOTO-KAH/^THE  WITCH 


ONE  hot  summer  day  I  was  leisurely  ex- 
ploring a  quaint  old  Indian  pueblo  in  New 
Mexico.  It  seemed  to  me  that  the  hands  of 
time  had  been  turned  back  a  few  centuries, 
and  that  I  was  living  in  the  olden  age,  when 
men  were  either  hunters,  tillers  of  the  soil,  or 
herders  of  flocks.  In  little  mud-walled  fields 
men  were  trimming  their  vines  ;  far  out  on  the 
mesas  could  be  seen  the  browsing  flocks,  each 
attended  by  one  or  two  cotton-clad  herders ; 
and  coming  up  from  the  winding  acequias 
were  women  and  girls,  each  bearing  upon  her 
head  a  large  water-jar.  In  time  I  became 
tired,  and  was  resting  in  the  shade  of  an  adobe 
wall,  when  I  caught  sight  of  a  horseman  rid- 

"3 


114  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

ing  toward  the  pueblo.  Before  he  was  near 
enough  for  me  to  discern  his  features,  I  could 
tell  by  his  costume  that  he  was  no  Pueblo 
Indian  ;  and  as  he  rode  through  the  narrow 
streets  and  came  into  the  bare  little  plaza,  I 
recognized  in  him  my  old  friend,  Lo-To-Kah — 
he  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  so  many  strange 
tales  of  the  Indians.  He  was  very  old,  but 
he  sat  as  erect  on  his  horse  as  any  warrior  in 
the  prime  of  life.  When  he  saw  me,  he  rode 
to  my  side  and  called  out : 

"Ho,  friend — vagrant  Merikotch  that  you 
are!  I  come  upon  you  in  all  places.  I  am 
glad  to  fall  in  with  you  this  day  for  I  have 
ridden  alone  over  many  weary  miles  of  the 
desert,  and  the  face  of  a  friend  is  a  welcome 
sight  to  lonesome  eyes.  To  see  you  brings 
back  memories  of  the  days  when  I  wandered, 
far  from  my  people,  in  the  strange  places  of 
the  world  ;  and  I  love  to  tell  you  the  old  tales 
of  the  days  that  are  gone,  for  in  telling  them 
I  live  them  over  again  in  memory.  To-night, 
after  I  have  eaten  and  rested,  I  will  tell  you  a 
tale  of  one  of  whom  you  asked  me  long  ago — 
Raymeya,  the  witch.  When  you  asked  of  her 
before,  I  replied  not;  but  I  have  seen  that 

1  White  man. 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  nr 

woman  again,  and  to-night  I  will  tell  you  of 
her.  With  whom  do  you  abide  in  this  place  ? " 

I  led  the  way  to  the  house  of  Ho-leka,  and 
Lo-To-Kah,  who  was  well  known  there,  was 
received  as  a  welcome  and  honored  guest. 
Food  was  spread,  after  which  tobacco  and 
corn  leaves  were  brought;  and  then  our  old 
host  and  his  family  clustered  about  the  room 
and  listened  to  the  talk  of  the  old  wanderer 
until  far  into  the  night.  Then,  one  by  one, 
they  went  to  their  couches,  until  all  were  gone 
but  Lo-To-Kah  and  myself.  When  we  were 
left  alone  the  old  man  sat  in  silence  for  a  long 
time,  and  then  he  said : 

"  Now,  O  friend  of  mine,  will  I  tell  you  of 
Raymeya,  the  witch.  And,  as  with  all  the 
tales  I  have  told  you,  I  enjoin  you  not  to  give 
it  in  books  to  the  white-skinned  people  until 
after  I  am  dead.  I  am  very  old  now:  nty 
blood  is  cold  and  my  heart  beats  slowly ;  it 
will  not  be  long  till  you  are  free  to  give  the 
tales  to  the  people  of  your  kind — the  white 
race  of  unbelievers,  who  will  say  that  the  tales 
are  lies. 

"  I  am  just  come  from  Moqui, — the  land 
once  known  to  the  whites  by  the  name  of 
Tusayan, — where  I  went  to  assist  in  the  dread 
dance  of  the  snakes.  Although  not  a  Mo- 


jjg  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

quino,  I  am  a  priest  of  the  Antelope  Order, 
and  I  was  versed  in  the  mysteries  of  the 
snake-worship  before  thirty  summers  had  come 
into  my  life.  The  spirits  of  birth  gave  me  a 
wandering  foot,  and  many  times  have  I  been 
absent  from  the  snake-dance  because  I  was 
journeying  in  the  far  places  of  the  world. 
But  I  went  to  the  dance  this  year  because  it 
is  likely  to  be  the  last  one  I  shall  ever  see. 
My  hold  on  life  is  now  so  feeble  that  when  I 
close  my  eyes  in  sleep  I  know  not  whether  I 
shall  awake  in  this  world  of  trouble  or  in  the 
bright  land  of  peace  that  lies  beyond  the 
grave.  At  the  snake-dance  this  year  I  saw 
Raymeya,  the  witch,  and  I  say  to  you  that 
she  seemed  as  young  and  as  wondrously  fair  as 
she  did  at  a  time  that  is  now  more  than  fifty 
years  in  the  past — a  time  when  she  came  to 
me  in  the  forest  and  besought  me  to  love  her. 
Ah,  she  is  fair — fairer  than  any  woman  who 
walks  upon  the  earth  to-day !  But  to  me  she 
is  not  so  fair,  and  was  never  so  fair,  as  was 
Zeetah,  my  wife — she  who  awaits  me  beyond 
the  grave,  and  whose  image  is  in  my  memory 
by  night  and  by  day. 

"  I  have  told  you  of  the  early  years  of  my 
life.  I  have  told  you  how  I  rescued  Zeetah 
from  the  wild  horses  to  which  the  brute  Nava- 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  nj 

jos  had  bound  her.  I  have  told  you  how  I 
avenged  in  blood  the  injuries  the  Navajos  had 
done  her.  I  have  told  you  how  she  became 
my  wife,  and  brought  me  greater  joy  than 
most  men  ever  know.  I  have  told  you  of  my 
journeyings  among  the  white-faced  peoples, 
and  of  my  battles  and  hunts  in  my  own  coun- 
try. All  these  tales  I  have  told  you  before, 
and  I  could  have  told  you  of  Raymeya  before 
if  I  had  cared  to  speak  of  her.  And  even 
now  I  am  not  sure  that  it  is  good  to  tell  you 
of  her.  You  are  tome  a  friend,  and  I  believe 
I  have  a  warm  place  in  your  heart.  When  I 
am  gone  from  the  earth  I  desire  that  you  will 
remember  me  as  a  man  who  knew  no  fear, 
and  as  a  man  who  spoke  ever  in  true  words. 
And  this  strange  tale  of  Raymeya  is  so  unlike 
all  other  tales  ;  it  is  so  much  like  the  lies  of 
an  evil  spirit ;  it  is  so  much  like  the  speech 
of  one  who  is  crazed — that  I  fear  you  will  not 
believe  it,  but  will  think  that  old  Lo-To-Kah 
spoke  to  you  lies.  Come,  friend  of  mine,  let 
us  seek  our  places  of  sleep,  and  leave  the  tale 
of  the  witch  untold." 

I  assured  the  old  man  that  nothing  could 
make  me  think  he  spoke  in  lies ;  that  I  might 
not  believe  the  tale  he  would  tell,  but  would 


n8 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 


believe,  at  any  rate,  that  he  thought  it  true. 
And,  after  much  persuasion,  he  said  : 

"  It  is  well,  my  friend ;  the  tale  shall  be 
yours.  The  people  to  whom  you  tell  it  will  not 
believe,  but  for  them  I  care  not.  And  you 
may  believe,  for  you  already  know  many  un- 
believable things  that  are  true  of  this  mys- 
terious, silent  land  that  is  my  home.  You 
know  that  a  Navajo  shaman  can  plant  a  seed 
of  corn  in  sterile  ground,  and  make  it  sprout, 
grow  into  stalk,  tassel  out,  and  ripen,  and  all 
in  a  single  day.  You  know  that  many  of  the 
Indians  have  a  charm  that  makes  the  bite  of 
the  most  poisonous  snake  as  harmless  as  the 
bite  of  a  fly.  You  know  that  the  Utes  can 
detach  the  soul  from  the  body,  and  send  it 
wandering  many,  many  miles  from  where  the 
body  lies  asleep.  So  to  you  the  tale  of  Ray- 
meya  may  not  seem  all  made  up  of  falsehood. 
What  the  people  of  your  race  believe,  I  care 
not.  They  are  the  greatest  of  all  the  races  that 
have  had  existence  since  the  face  of  the  earth 
first  appeared  above  the  mighty  waters ;  yet  with 
all  their  wisdom  they  are  a  race  of  wrangling 
unbelievers.  But  the  night  grows  old,  and  I 
have  yet  to  tell  you  what  I  know  of  the  tale 
of  Raymeya. 

"After   I    returned    from    the    great    raid 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE   WITCH.  ng 

against  the  Navajos, — of  which  I  told  you, — I 
was  treated  with  great  honor  by  my  people. 
War-songs  were  sung  about  me,  the  children 
gazed  upon  me  in  awe,  and  my  words  were 
held  in  high  esteem  in  the  councils.  I  loved 
the  honor  and  the  praise  ;  but  more  than  all 
things  else  I  loved  Zeetah,  my  wife,  and  I 
would  leave  the  councils  and  the  dances  and 
the  games  of  the  men,  and  spend  the  time 
apart  with  her.  Ah,  amigo  mia,  never  does  a 
man  know  the  fullness  of  life  till  he  knows 
such  love  as  I  have  known  ! 

"  One  day  in  council  the  old  chief  of  the 
tribe  to  which  I  belonged  arose  in  his  place 
and  said  that  he  was  old,  and  the  days  of  his 
life  were  almost  gone,  and  that  before  he  was 
gone  he  desired  to  surrender  his  office  to  a 
man  who  was  young  and  strong,  and  just  and 
fearless,  so  that  the  years  to  come  would  be 
good  years  for  his  people.  Then,  while  the 
warriors  and  the  old  men  held  their  very 
breath  in  silence,  he  placed  his  hand  upon 
my  head,  and  asked  me  to  be  chief  in  his 
stead. 

"  I  was  but  a  youth  then,  Senor :  an  honor 
had  come  to  me  that  many  aged  men  had 
sought  through  their  lives,  without  finding  ; 
but  instead  of  being  pleased,  I  was  so  grieved 


I20  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  H'lTCH. 

that  I  almost  wept.  While  I  sat  in  silence, 
with  my  eyes  cast  down,  the  people  began 
shouting: 

" '  Lo-To-Kah,  the  chief !  Lo-To-Kah,  the 
chief !  We  are  the  warriors  of  Lo-To-Kah,  of 
the  oaken  heart,  and  no  people  can  stand 
before  us ! ' 

"  I  embraced  the  old  chief  and  thanked 
him,  and  I  thanked  the  warriors  who  were 
willing  to  have  me  for  chief ;  and  then  I  told 
them  that  not  yet  would  I  consent  to  be  their 
chief,  but  that  in  six  days  I  would  give  them 
an  answer.  And  then  I  left  the  council  and 
went  to  Zeetah. 

"  I  told  Zeetah  that  if  I  became  chief  the 
troubles  of  the  people  would  become  my 
troubles,  and  their  cares  would  be  my  cares. 
I  said  to  her  that  many  times  would  I  be 
called  from  her  side  to  decide  among  the 
people,  to  direct  the  hunts,  to  parley  and  treat 
with  other  tribes ;  but,  if  I  were  not  chief, 
much  of  my  time  would  be  hers,  and  could  be 
spent  with  her;  and  I  asked  her  to  decide 
whether  I  should  be  chief  or  not. 

"  Zeetah  said :  '  Whether  you  are  chief  or 
not,  O  Lo-To-Kah,  ever  will  you  be  found  in 
the  thickest  of  the  battles  that  are  fought 
against  our  enemies ;  ever  will  your  voice  be 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  J2I 

listened  to  in  the  councils ;  ever  will  the  people 
be  guided  by  your  wisdom,  and  ever  will  you 
be  a  leader  among  them  ;  for  nature  has  made 
you  a  chief,  and  what  is  offered  you  is  only 
your  due.  Yet  the  matter  is  a  grave  one,  for 
every  hour  you  would  be  away  from  me  would 
be  an  hour  that  my  life  would  lack  to  make  it 
complete.  I  cannot  tell,  my  husband  :  you 
yourself  must  choose.' 

"  Then  we  decided  that  I  should  go  alone 
into  the  forest,  away  from  my  wife,  and  away 
from  my  people,  and  there  should  meditate 
until  I  should  be  guided  aright.  And  I  took 
blankets,  and  a  bow  and  arrows,  and  I  went 
alone  into  the  depths  of  the  forest. 

"  I  went  many  miles,  and  when  night  came 
I  builded  a  fire  and  lay  down  by  it  to  sleep. 
But  I  was  so  lonesome  and  longed  so  much 
for  my  wife,  that  I  was  minded  to  go  back  in 
the  night  and  tell  the  people  I  would  not  be 
their  chief.  But  I  did  not  go,  and  I  slept  till 
the  sun  came  up,  and  then  I  killed  game  and 
cooked  it,  and  sat  down  to  meditate  again. 
In  this  way  the  days  and  nights  passed,  until 
the  sun  had  risen  and  set  four  times,  and  I 
had  made  no  choice.  Then  the  night  came 
on  again,  and  I  sat  by  my  fire  and  brooded. 
It  was  a  night  of  moonlight,  and  multitudes 


122  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  11'ITCff. 

of  stars  shone  in  the  sky  above  me.  Away  in 
the  far  distance  I  saw  the  white-topped  mount- 
ains that  the  Spanish  people  call  the  Mountains 
of  Silver.  Far  behind  me  lay  the  peaceful 
valley  where  my  people  were  encamped,  and 
all  about  me  were  the  numberless  trees  of  the 
forest.  While  I  sat  there  musing  and  gazing 
away  at  the  mountains,  I  heard  a  soft  step  in 
the  leaves  behind  me ;  and  before  I  could  fit 
an  arrow  to  my  bow,  there  stood  before  me  a 
woman  as  fair  as  any  woman  who  has  ever 
breathed  the  breath  of  life.  She  was  a  white- 
skinned  woman,  and  she  was  clad  in  finer 
garments  than  had  ever  been  seen  in  the 
lands  of  the  Indians.  Her  dress  was  of  white, 
clinging  silk;  a  black  reboso  was  over  her 
head  ;  and  on  her  white  neck,  and  around  her 
arms,  and  on  her  fingers,  were  jewels  of  so 
wonderful  brightness  that  scarce  could  I  look 
upon  them.  The  woman  smiled  as  she  gazed 
upon  me,  and  she  said : 

" '  You  are  Lo-To-Kah,  and  you  are  such  a 
man  as  I  had  hoped  you  would  be.  I  have 
journeyed  great  distances  to  meet  you.  I 
have  arrayed  myself  so  that  I  may  seem  fair 
in  your  eyes.  Look  upon  me !  Am  I  not 
more  beautiful  than  any  woman  you  ever 
saw?' 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  123 

"  I  answered  :  '  You  are  arrayed  in  garments 
of  greater  beauty  than  any  I  ever  saw.  You 
wear  stones  in  which  are  imprisoned  the  light 
of  the  sun  and  the  splendors  of  the  rainbow. 
You  are  fairer  than  any  woman  known  to  me 
except  Zeetah,  my  wife.  What  do  you  desire 
of  me  ? ' 

"  The  face  of  the  woman  became  somewhat 
sad  when  I  spoke  with  such  reverence  of  my 
wife,  and  she  gazed  upon  me  for  a  time  in 
silence.  Then  she  said  : 

" '  Lo-To-Kah,  I  am  the  fairest  woman  upon 
the  earth ;  and  even  time  and  the  passing  of 
the  years  cannot  mar  my  beauty.  I  am  wise — 
wiser  even  than  all  of  the  oldest  and  wisest 
men  of  your  tribe,  or  of  all  the  Indian  tribes 
under  the  sun  ;  I  am  rich — so  rich  that  all  the 
wealth  of  your  people  would  be  but  a  bauble 
to  me ;  I  am  great — so  great  that  chiefs  are 
my  subjects.  What  think  you  of  me  now  ? ' 

"  I  gave  answer  that  I  thought  the  great 
Chah-now-woof '  had  blessed  her  beyond  all 
women  ;  and  again  I  asked  what  she  desired 
of  me,  and  she  said  : 

" '  But  one  thing  do  I  lack,  O  Lo-To-Kah, 
and  that  thing  I  seek  from  you.  I  am  known 
to  many  of  the  greatest  men  in  the  world,  and 

1  The  Great  Spirit. 


124  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

they  seek  me  for  lover  or  wife  ;  but  I  care  not 
for  them,  for  they  are  proud,  or  vain,  or  false, 
or  have  the  hearts  of  cowards.  I  long  for  a 
man  in  whose  heart  fear  is  not ;  a  man  who 
stakes  his  life  upon  his  promise ;  a  man  who 
is  so  great  that  he  can  rule  even  me,  who  am 
a  ruler.  Among  tribes  far  from  here  I  heard 
of  you, — for  the  fame  of  your  deeds  has 
traveled  far, — and  I  came  to  this  land  to  seek 
you.  I  came  disguised  as  a  woman  of  your 
own  nation  ;  and  when  the  people  of  your  kind 
who  dwell  in  the  North  came  to  this  land  to 
dance,  I  was  with  them.  I  have  watched  you 
since  then  ;  I  have  come  to  believe  that  you 
are  the  man  of  men  ;  and  now  I  seek  from  you 
the  only  thing  my  life  needs  to  make  it  com- 
plete. The  thing  I  seek  from  you  is  love.' 

"  Remember,  Seiior,  that  at  that  time  1  had 
never  journeyed  among  the  white  peoples;  I 
knew  not  of  their  ways  ;  and  I  thought  of 
women  in  the  way  my  people  thought  of  them. 
Among  my  people  a  man  is  much  greater  than 
a  woman ;  and,  too,  a  man  often  has  many 
wives.  Many  of  the  women  of  my  nation  had 
sought  to  be  my  wife,  and  the  offer  of  the 
white  woman  did  not  then  seem  to  me  so 
great  a  thing  as  I  now  know  it  to  have  been. 
I  answered  her  and  said : 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  I2- 

" '  In  the  encampment  of  my  tribe  there 
stands  a  can-nee,  made  of  the  hides  of  buffalo, 
which  is  larger  than  any  of  the  other  can-nees. 
In  it  dwells  a  woman  who  is  fairer  and  dearer 
than  any  other  woman  of  my  nation.  The 
can-nee  is  mine,  and  the  woman  is  my  wife. 
The  woman  is  so  dear  to  me  that  I  have  prom- 
ised her,  and  have  promised  myself,  to  have 
no  other  wife  than  she.  Many  men  in  my 
tribe  have  more  wives  than  one ;  and  among 
our  men  are  many  who  will  be  glad  to  take 
you.  Go  to  them.' 

"  The  woman  gazed  upon  me  with  a  strange 
look  upon  her  face.  She  folded  her  arms, 
and  stood  for  a  time  in  silence,  and  then  she 
said  : 

" '  You  are  but  a  simple  Indian,  and  you 
know  not  what  you  say.  I  would  not  live  an 
instant  in  a  can-nee  with  a  man  who  had  an- 
other wife.  Who  loves  me,  must  love  me 
only.' 

"  I  answered  :  '  I  love  only  Zeetah,  my  wife. 
No  lips  but  hers  have  ever  pressed  my  lips  in 
love,  and  so  it  shall  be  till  the  day  of  my 
death.' 

"  Then  was  the  woman  angered,  and  she 
said  :  '  Fool,  you  know  not  what  you  say  !  I 
have  untold  wealth,  great  knowledge,  great 


I26  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

power.  I  can  fulfill  your  any  hope.  Why 
am  I  not  better  for  you  than  a  wild  Indian 
woman  ?  I  can  take  you  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth ;  with  me  you  can  live  in  a  palace  and 
be  attended  by  slaves.  But  if  you  care  not 
for  such  things,  I  too  will  live  with  you  as  an 
Indian  woman,  if  you  will  but  cast  off  this 
Zeetah  and  take  me  for  your  wife.' 

"  I  answered  the  woman  not  at  all  ;  and 
then  she  sought  to  tempt  me  with  her  loveli- 
ness, telling  me  she  would  always  be  young 
and  fair.  That  failed ;  and  then  she  told  me 
a  strange  tale  of  a  city  hidden  in  an  undis- 
covered valley  of  the  Sierra  Madre  Mountains 
— a  city  of  wise  Indians  who  had  great  houses, 
and  heaps  of  gold,  and  great  wealth  in  such 
jewels  as  she  wore.  She  said  she  was  the 
queen  of  that  people,  and  if  I  would  go  with 
her  I  might  be  their  king.  Then  she  told  me 
many  tales  of  the  far  countries  of  the  world, 
and  of  the  great  oceans,  and  of  the  mighty 
ships,  and  of  the  cities  whose  size  is  so  great 
that  they  stretch  away  farther  than  the  sight 
of  a  man  can  carry.  She  said  she  had  seen 
all  those  places  and  lands  and  wonders,  and 
would  take  me  to  them  if  I  would  go.  But  I 
still  refused,  and  I  would  have  refused  if  she 
had  offered  me  the  world,  and  all  it  contains. 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  12» 

The  woman  again  became  angered,  and  she 
said  : 

"'What,  then,  if  this  precious  Zeetah  of 
yours  should  die  ?  Would  you  then  refuse 
me?' 

"  My  heart  was  then  filled  with  trouble,  for 
I  feared  the  woman  might  work  harm  upon 
my  wife ;  and  I  told  her  that  if  so  much  as 
one  hair  upon  my  Zeetah's  head  was  harmed, 
I  would  know  it  to  be  her  work,  and  that  I 
would  seek  her  till  I  found  her,  and  would  kill 
her. 

"  The  woman  smiled,  and  told  me  I  could 
not  kill  her.  Then  she  became  sad,  and  she 
gazed  upon  me  a  long,  long  time,  and  she 
spoke  no  word.  But  in  time  she  roused  her- 
self, and  said  : 

" '  I  have  journeyed  over  the  world  seeking 
the  man  of  men,  and  until  I  met  you  I  had  not 
found  him.  And  now  that  I  have  found  you, 
I  learn  in  bitterness  that  you  are  not  for  me. 
Fear  not  for  your  Zeetah  ;  I  will  do  her  no 
evil.  See  !  I  have  here  a  charm  that  is  revered 
among  all  Indians.  If  your  Zeetah  is  ever  in 
trouble  I  will  lend  her  this,  and  thus  show  you 
that  I  hold  your  happiness  even  above  my 
own.' 

"  From  a  fold  in  her  robe  the  woman  drew 


I2g  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

forth  the  dried  dead  body  of  a  two-headed 
rattlesnake — a  charm  that  is  sacred  among  all 
Indians,  no  matter  of  what  tribe  they  are.  It 
is  the  holiest  emblem  we  know,  and  fortunate 
is  the  man  whose  privilege  it  is  to  see  it.  A 
two-headed  snake  is  born  but  once  in  a  hun- 
dred years,  and  it  is  sent  to  earth  by  Chah- 
Now-Woof  himself.  While  it  lives  it  is  de- 
voutly worshipped,  and  when  it  is  dead  its 
dried  body  is  so  potent  a  token  that  no  Indian 
will  harm  any  man  or  woman  who  has  it. 
With  such  an  emblem,  amigo,  you  could  jour- 
ney to  the  uttermost  ends  of  the  lands  that  the 
Indians  know,  and  all  men  would  do  you 
homage.  With  such  an  emblem  I  could  jour- 
ney through  the  heart  of  a  land  of  foes,  every 
warrior  of  which  might  be  thirsting  for  my 
blood,  and  no  harm  would  be  done  me.  I 
asked  the  woman  to  allow  me  to  touch  the 
snake,  for  one  had  never  been  seen  by  any 
man  of  my  tribe ;  and  because  I  touched  it  is 
one  of  the  reasons  that  life  has  gone  so  well 
with  me. 

"  Then  I  asked  the  white  woman  her  name, 
and  when  she  told  me  I  gazed  upon  her  in 
awe  and  wonder;  for  the  name  she  gave  me 
was  the  name  of  the  Great  Witch  of  the  South, 
whose  fame  is  known  to  every  Indian  man  of 


LO-TO-RAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  I2g 

magic  that  dwells  upon  the  earth.  She  said 
her  name  was  Raymeya.  When  she  spoke  her 
name,  I  cast  down  my  eyes  in  reverence.  And 
when  I  looked  again  the  woman  was  gone. 
It  seemed  as  though  she  had  melted  into 
the  air.  I  did  not  see  her  again  until  more 
than  five  and-twenty  years  had  gone  into  the 
past. 

"  After  the  woman  was  gone  I  again  medi- 
tated as  to  becoming  chief,  but  six  days  passed 
and  I  had  not  made  a  decision.  I  returned  to 
the  encampment  of  my  people,  and  before  I 
had  been  there  long  the  question  was  decided 
for  me.  I  found  my  people  in  great  uproar ; 
for  a  runner  had  come  to  the  camp,  bearing 
the  tidings  that  a  band  of  Apaches  was  coming 
down  upon  us,  wearing  their  war-paint,  and 
saying  they  would  wipe  our  warriors  from  the 
face  of  the  earth,  steal  our  horses,  and  take 
our  women  for  slaves.  I  had  not  been  in  my 
can-nee  an  hour  when  the  warriors  of  my 
tribe  came  and  called  me  and  told  me  I  must 
be  their  chief;  for  the  old  chief  was  sick  in 
his  tent,  and  unless  I  guided  them  they  would 
all  be  killed.  Thus  was  the  matter  decided 
for  me  ;  my  duty  became  greater  than  my  de- 
sire, and  I  told  the  people  I  would  be  their 
chief. 


130  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

"  Then  sacred  po-o-kan-te  was  made  by  our 
men  of  medicine,  war-paint  was  donned,  the 
feathers  of  eagles  were  fastened  in  our  hair, 
and  we  danced  the  war-dance  and  sang  the 
old  war-songs  of  our  people  while  we  awaited 
the  coming  of  the  Apaches.  It  was  not  long 
till  they  came,  but  they  came  like  snakes  and 
not  like  men.  They  tried  to  deceive  us,  and 
cause  us  to  follow  a  few  of  them  in  one  direc- 
tion, while  the  others  stole  upon  us  from  be- 
hind our  backs  to  kill  us.  I  had  fought  bat- 
tles with  the  Apaches  before,  and  when  a  few 
of  them  fired  arrows  upon  us  from  the  south,  I 
directed  my  men  to  stand  firm  and  not  to 
follow  them.  The  numbers  of  the  Apaches 
were  very  many,  and  soon  they  ceased  trying 
to  decoy  us,  and  charged  down  upon  us,  think- 
ing we  would  flee  before  their  great  numbers, 
and  leave  our  women  behind.  But  we  stood 
side  by  side,  as  the  white  soldiers  do  when 
they  fight,  and  we  all  shot  our  arrows  at  once. 
My  men  were  brave,  and  they  stood  by  me 
till  many  an  Apache  devil  had  bit  the  dust ; 
but  soon  the  Apache  fiends  crowded  upon  us 
in  such  great  numbers  that  my  men  were 
forced  backward  step  by  step.  Soon  we  had 
gone  backward  so  far  that  we  found  we  could 
not  go  farther  without  exposing  our  women 


I    rushed    into  the    midst  of  the   shrieking    Apaches." 


L  O-  TO-KA  H  A  ND  THE  Wl  TCH.  I  -,  3 

and  children  to  danger,  and  at  that  place  I 
told  my  men  to  halt,  and  fight  till  they  were 
killed.  Then  we  fought  such  a  battle  as  was 
never  before  known  even  to  the  oldest  men  of  my 
tribe.  The  Apaches  are  like  reptiles,  and  they 
like  not  to  stand  on  their  feet  and  fight  like 
men  ;  but  we  killed  so  many  of  them  that  they 
went  mad  with  anger,  and  they  crowded  upon 
us  like  hordes  of  demons.  When  the  fight 
began  I  had  with  me  a  hundred  young  men. 
Soon  ten  of  them  were  dead,  then  ten  more, 
and  then  they  fell  dead  about  me  as  the  trees 
fall  in  the  face  of  a  mountain  storm.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  soon  we  should  all  be 
killed,  and  I  thought  of  the  Apaches  bearing 
away  our  women  to  make  slaves  of  them.  I 
thought  of  my  Zeetah  being  forced  to  dwell 
with  some  Apache  brute,  and  the  thought 
made  me  so  mad  that  I  forgot  all  danger.  I 
shouted  the  terrible  war-cry  of  my  people,  and 
I  rushed  into  the  midst  of  the  shrieking 
Apaches,  swinging  my  giant  club  as  I  went. 
I  smote  the  Apaches  to  the  right,  and  a  man 
fell  dead ;  I  smote  them  to  the  left,  and  an- 
other of  them  bit  the  dust ;  I  smote  them  on 
all  sides,  and  as  I  smote  they  fell  before  me. 
But  all  the  time  they  crowded  upon  me  closer 
and  closer,  and  it  seemed  that  my  life  could 


1, 4  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

not  last  as  long  as  it  takes  a  man  to  breathe. 
All  about  me  was  a  sea  of  writhing,  upturned 
faces,  and  a  multitude  of  arms  reaching  out  to 
deal  me  the  blow  of  death.  In  my  youth  I  had 
learned  the  whirling  dance — a  dance  in  which 
one  whirls  upon  his  heel,  going  around  so 
swiftly  that  scarcely  can  an  onlooker  see  his 
face.  When  I  was  sorely  pressed  by  the 
Apaches  I  thought  of  my  skill  in  that  dance, 
and  I  resolved  to  make  it  serve  me.  I  whirled 
my  club  so  fast  that  soon  I  had  an  open  space 
about  me,  and  then  I  spun  upon  my  heel,  and 
as  I  spun  I  swung  my  club.  I  went  so  fast 
that  my  club  sped  through  the  air  making  a 
noise  like  the  rushing  of  many  waters.  The 
Apaches  had  never  seen  such  a  sight,  and  as 
they  saw  their  warriors  fall  dead  before  my 
terrible  club  they  became  afraid,  and  they 
shouted  : 

"  '  This  man  cannot  be  killed  !  This  man 
bears  a  charmed  life  !  He  must  be  Chah- 
Now-Woof,  and  we  cannot  harm  him !  Let  us 
flee,  or  he  will  kill  us  all ! ' 

"  I  knew  not  where  my  own  men  were,  for  I 
had  gone  into  the  midst  of  the  Apaches.  And 
as  the  Apaches  turned  and  fled  I  pursued 
them,  and  I  dealt  a  blow  of  death  at  every 
step.  The  hot  blood  from  gaping  wounds 


L  0-  TO-KA  H  A  ND  THE  IV  1  TCH.  j  3  e 

spurted  into  my  face,  but  I  heeded  not.  The 
shrieks  of  a  score  of  dying  men  rent  my  ears, 
but  I  heeded  not.  Writhing  men  who  were 
dying  upon  the  ground  rose  up  and  struck  at 
me  with  their  clubs,  but  I  heeded  not.  And 
making  the  war-cry  of  my  nation  sound  wildly 
through  the  forest,  I  sped  on  after  the  fleeing 
Apaches ;  and  when  they  were  all  gone  from 
before  me  I  was  a  great  distance  from  the  en- 
campment of  my  people.  I  was  bleeding  from 
a  dozen  wounds — a  hundred  arrows  had  pierced 
my  flesh  ; — but  so  great  had  been  my  rage  that 
J  had  not  felt  the  stings  of  my  wounds  until  I 
stopped  to  rest. 

"I  made  my  way  back  to  the  place 
where  the  camp  of  my  people  had  been,  and 
as  I  went  my  path  was  strewn  with  the  dead 
and  dying  forms  of  the  Apache  devils  whom  I 
had  slain.  One  dying  man  raised  upon  his 
elbow,  and  impotently  tried  to  send  an  arrow 
through  me ;  but  I  jeered  at  him  and  went  on. 
And  when  I  came  to  the  place  where  the 
homes  of  my  tribe  had  been,  I  saw  a  sadder 
sight  than  my  eyes  had  ever  looked  upon. 
The  can-nees  of  my  people  had  been  burned  to 
the  ground ;  the  dead  bodies  of  little  children 
were  burning  in  the  fires  of  the  tents,  and  the 
bravest  and  best  warriors  of  my  nation  were 


!36  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

strewn  over  the  place,  cold  and  stark  in 
the  grasp  of  death.  And  as  I  went  towards 
the  place  that  had  been  my  home,  I  came 
upon  the  body  of  my  young  brother — a 
brave  boy,  whom  I  had  loved  next  to 
my  wife ;  and  as  I  saw  him  lying  cold  and 
still  in  death,  I  broke  down  and  wept  as  weeps 
a  babe.  I  lifted  his  stiff  body  in  my  arms,  and 
caressed  him ;  and  then  I  took  a  vow  to  kill 
half  a  hundred  Apache  fiends  to  avenge  his 
death.  Then  in  sorrow  I  went  on,  and  when 
I  reached  my  can-nee  I  found  it  half  burned  to 
the  ground ;  and  when  I  looked  within,  I  found 
it  empty." 

When  the  old  man  reached  this  place  in  his 
tale,  a  sigh  burst  from  his  lips,  his  wrinkled 
old  face  went  down  into  his  palms,  and  for 
many  minutes  he  did  not  speak.  But  the  sad 
spell  soon  left  him,  and  he  continued  : 

"  I  went  within  the  ruined  remnant  of  my 
home,  and  in  the  ground  that  was  the  floor  I 
found  little  furrows  that  I  knew  had  been 
made  by  the  feet  of  my  wife  as  she  was  dragged 
resisting  from  her  home  by  the  naked  devils 
who  had  stolen  her.  And  then  I  turned  my 
face  to  the  sky,  and  I  vowed  to  Chah-Now- 
Woof  himself  that  I  would  spend  my  life  in 
avenging  the  wrong  done  to  my  wife.  Of  mji 


And    I   turned    my  face  to  the   sky  and    vowed   to   Chah-naw-woof 
himself." 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  j  ,„ 

thoughts  at  that  time  I  will  not  tell  you,  for  I 
am  old,  and  great  excitement  does  me  harm. 
But  many  an  Apache  has  gone  to  his  everlasting 
home  because  I  have  sometimes  remembered 
that  awful  time. 

"  I  found  that  part  of  the  Apache  band  had 
crept  away  from  the  ones  I  fought,  and  had 
gone  around  our  camp  and  set  fire  to  our  can- 
nces  and  killed  some  women  and  children  ;  and 
that  they  were  preparing  to  steal  all  our  women, 
when  my  men  had  turned  upon  them  and 
forced  them  to  fly  for  life.  But  before  they 
were  forced  to  fly  they  had  stolen  my  Zeetah, 
and  she  was  the  only  one  of  our  women  they 
had  got.  Ah,  the  thoughts  that  came  to  me 
of  my  Zeetah  being  forced  to  endure  the  em- 
brace and  the  leers  of  a  naked  Apache  fiend  ! — 
Senor,  allow  me  to  stop,  and  to  tell  you  no 
more  of  this  tale." 

The  old  man  arose  from  his  seat  and  strode 
up  and  down  the  room,  his  face  working  with 
excitement.  But  after  a  time  he  stopped,  and 
placed  his  hand  upon  my  shoulder  and  said : 

"  There  will  come  a  happier  part  of  my  tale, 
so  I  will  go  on  : 

"  I  found  that  many  of  our  bravest  and  best 
warriors  had  been  killed.  I  found  that  the 
old  man  who  had  been  chief  for  many  years 


1 40  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

was  gone.  But  the  troubles  of  my  people  did 
not  rest  so  heavily  upon  me  as  did  the  sorrow 
of  losing  my  wife. 

"  The  women  cut  their  hair  and  wailed  in 
sorrow,  and  the  men  sang  the  song  of  death, 
and  gathered  our  dead  friends  together  to  pre- 
pare them  for  the  journey  to  the  Happy  Hunt- 
ing Grounds.  And  while  the  rites  of  death 
were  going  on,  I  donned  fresh  paint ;  I  filled 
my  quiver  with  fresh  arrows ;  I  packed  some 
dried  meat  in  my  pouch,  and  I  started  away  to 
the  south  in  the  track  of  the  Apaches,  who  had 
stolen  all  that  the  world  held  that  was  dear  to 
me.  At  first  the  trail  was  clear,  but  after  a 
day's  journey  I  found  that  I  must  contend 
with  the  cunning  of  the  Apaches,  who  are 
more  cunning  than  serpents ;  for  the  trails 
seemed  to  divide  and  go  in  all  directions. 
Then  the  trails  seemed  to  disappear,  and  to 
fade  from  the  ground.  But  I  had  tracked 
Apaches  when  I  was  but  a  boy,  and  I  followed 
them  as  surely  as  though  the  way  was  an  open 
road  before  me.  They  had  gone  with  the 
speed  of  the  wind,  and  I  followed  them  over 
the  mountains  and  across  the  deserts  for  many, 
many  weary  days.  My  feet  bled  from  the 
rocks,  my  strength  weakened ;  but  I  dragged 
myself  along,  determined  to  find  them,  to  kill 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  1^1 

my  beloved  wife  so  she  could  be  in  the  other 
land  to  meet  me,  and  then  sell  my  life  for  as 
many  Apache  lives  as  I  could  get  for  it. 

"  I  went  by  day  and  by  night ;  and  at  last, 
in  the  dead  time  of  a  moonless  night,  I  came 
within  sight  of  the  raiicheria  of  the  Apaches. 

0  Chah-Now-Woof,  sweet  is  revenge  !     When 

1  saw  the  Apache  encampment  I  forgot  that  I 
was  weary,  and  was  again  a  strong  man  and  a 
chief.     I  crawled  upon  my  hands  and  feet, 
gliding  as  silently  as  a  serpent  glides,  and  soon 
I  was  among  the  miserable  tents  of  my  foes. 
I  went  from  one  tent  to  another,  listening ;  for 
I  thought  I   would  know  my  Zeetah  even  by 
her  soft  breath  as  she  slept.     At  last  I  came 
to  a  tent  larger  than  any  of  the  others,  and 
there  I  heard  a  sound  that  sent  my  heart  into 
my  mouth.     It  was  the   voice  of  Zeetah,  who 
talked  as  she  slept.     I  listened,  and  heard  her 
say  : 

"  '  Lo-To-Kah,  dear  one,  I  have  had  an  evil 
dream.  I  dreamed  I  was  stolen  from  your 
side.  O  Lo-To-Kah,  take  me  closer  in  your 
arms.' 

"  Then  my  eyes  were  wet  with  tears.  I 
scratched  upon  the  wall  of  the  tent  to  awaken 
her,  and  soon  I  kne,\v  she  was  awake,  for  she 
spoke  in  fright.  I  whispered  to  her,  telling 


!^2  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

her  I  was  Lo-To-Kah,  and  asking  her  to  steal 
out  to  me  if  she  were  not  bound.  Soon  she 
came,  silently  creeping  to  me,  and  1  took  her 
in  my  arms  and  kissed  her  as  a  mother  might 
kiss  a  loved  child  who  had  come  back  to  her 
from  the  grave.  And  then,  as  she  was  weak 
from  so  much  fear  and  excitement,  I  took  her 
in  my  arms  and  bore  her  away  into  the  depths 
of  the  forest ;  and  as  I  bore  her  I  saw  that  she 
held  some  strange  object  in  her  hands. 

"  I  am  different  from  the  men  of  my  tribe, 
and  I  could  not  bear  the  thought  of  living  with 
my  wife  after  the  great  dishonor  that  had  been 
put  upon  her;  and  I  determined  to  live  with 
her  one  night  of  bliss,  and  then  to  kill  her,  and 
then  go  to  the  ranchcria  of  the  Apaches  and 
fight  them  as  long  as  my  life  should  last. 
Most  of  the  men  of  my  kind  would  have  kept 
the  woman,  being  glad  to  have  her  love  at  any 
price :  but  I  loved  her  so  much  that  I  would 
rather  have  killed  her  than  have  her  live,  and 
remember  dishonor. 

"  When  we  reached  a  safe  place  in  the 
forest,  I  told  Zeetah  what  I  had  determined  to 
do,  and  then  she  showed  me  the  dried  body  of 
the  two-headed  snake,  and  told  me  that  while 
the  battle  had  raged  hottest  a  strange  woman 
with  a  white  skin  had  crept  into  our  can-nee 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  j^ 

and  given  her  the  emblem,  and  then  faded  as 
though  she  had  gone  up  in  smoke.  Zeetah 
knew  of  the  snake  emblem,  and  she  had  car- 
ried it  with  her  ;  and  because  she  had  borne 
it  she  had  not  been  harmed,  even  though  she 
was  among  the  brute  Apaches — those  devils 
who  are  worse  than  the  lowest  brutes  the  gods 
have  placed  upon  the  earth.  And  when  my 
wife  told  me  she  was  free  from  disgrace,  it  was 
the  happiest  moment  I  have  known  in  all  the 
years  of  my  life. 

"Then  Zeetah  and  I  crept  back  to  the 
camp  of  the  Apaches,  and  we  went  to  the  tent 
where  she  had  been  a  prisoner,  which  was  the 
tent  of  the  head  chief.  We  crept  inside, 
making  no  noise,  and  we  found  the  chief  still 
sleeping.  Before  he  awoke  a  gag  was  in  his 
mouth,  and  I  threw  him  across  my  shoulder 
and  bore  him  away  into  the  forest,  Zeetah 
following  after  me.  It  would  have  been  no 
wrong  thing  to  have  killed  him  as  one  would 
kill  a  serpent ;  but  when  we  were  in  the  forest 
I  unbound  him.  I  placed  his  battle-club  in 
his  hands  and  told  him  to  fight  for  his  life,  as 
he  and  I  would  never  both  go  forth  alive. 
The  battle  was  fierce  and  short,  but  when  it 
was  done  the  Apaches  lacked  a  chief. 

"I  knew  it  was  Raymeya,  the  witch,  who 


144  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

had  come  to  my  can-nee,  and  given  the  charm 
to  my  wife,  but  I  told  my  wife  nothing  of  her. 
And  one  day  after  that  I  came  home  from  a 
hunt  and  found  my  wife  looking  as  though  she 
had  a  trouble,  and  when  I  asked  the  cause 
she  said  that  the  strange  white  woman  had 
come  again,  and  had  taken  away  with  her  the 
dried  snake.  Zeetah  asked  me  if  the  woman 
were  a  mortal  or  a  spirit,  and  I  replied  that  I 
did  not  know.  And  I  do  not  know  unto  this  day. 

"  From  that  time  on  I  did  not  see  the  witch 
again  for  many  long  years.  My  wife  died,  I 
tired  of  this  land,  and,  as  I  have  told  you  be- 
fore, I  learned  the  speech  of  the  white-skinned 
people,  and  journeyed  among  them  with  a 
show.  I  went  to  many  cities  and  many  places, 
and  in  time  our  show  crossed  the  ocean  and 
went  to  the  land  called  Europe. 

"  Never  in  all  my  life  was  I  so  lonely  as  I 
was  on  the  day  when  we  sailed  away  on  the 
big  ship,  and  set  out  into  the  heart  of  the 
ocean.  Behind  us  was  the  great  city,  its 
towers  and  domes  glittering  in  the  sunlight, 
and  before  us  was  the  expanse  of  the  trackless 
sea.  But  the  spell  soon  left  me,  for  all  the 
world  had  been  lonely  since  I  laid  my  Zeetah 
to  rest  in  the  ground  in  the  shadow  of  the 
snow-topped  mountains. 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  T^ 

"  We  journeyed  through  the  land  of  France 
and  through  the  lands  of  Italy  and  Germany, 
and  then  we  went  to  England.  There  the 
people  went  wild  over  us,  and  multitudes  of 
them  came  every  day  to  see  the  Indians. 
Deerfoot,  the  Seneca,  was  with  us, — he  who 
was  in  his  time  the  mightiest  and  fleetest  run- 
ner in  the  world. 

"The  English  people  numbered  among 
them  one  who  was  a  mighty  runner,  and  he 
desired  to  try  his  speed  with  that  of  Deerfoot. 
The  race  was  arranged  to  take  place  in  a  great 
arena,  and  on  the  appointed  day  a  vast  con- 
course of  people  assembled.  The  white  man 
was  a  fleet  runner,  going  with  the  speed  of  an 
antelope  ;  but  he  was  no  match  for  Deerfoot, 
who  sped  away  like  the  wind.  Away  they 
went,  ten  times  around  the  great  race-course, 
and  Deerfoot  won  as  easily  as  a  coyote  would 
win  against  a  mongrel  dog. 

"  The  race  set  my  blood  to  boiling,  and  I 
yearned  to  do  something  myself  to  show  the 
white  people  that  we  children  of  the  forests 
and  plains  were  not  their  inferiors.  I  mounted 
the  stand  of  their  judges,  and  I  challenged 
any  white  man  there  to  wrestle  with  me  for  a 
stake  of  a  thousand  English  pounds.  The 
English  people  are  famed  for  athletic  skill; 


146  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

and  in  that  audience  of  people  were  the 
famed  boxers  and  runners  and  wrestlers  of  the 
nation.  My  offer  was  taken  at  once,  and  soon 
there  stepped  into  the  arena  a  man  who 
seemed  to  be  stronger  than  the  strongest 
horse.  When  he  was  stripped  his  muscles 
stood  out  on  his  body  like  the  vines  of  the 
poison  ivy  stand  out  on  the  trunks  of  trees, 
and  his  hands  seemed  like  vices.  The  people 
shouted,  and  said  the  match  should  take  place 
at  once;  and  I  stripped  off  my  outer  garments 
and  stepped  to  the  side  of  the  man.  He 
shook  my  hand,  according  to  the  custom  of 
the  white  nations,  and  at  once  we  began  the 
battle. 

"  Before  I  was  aware,  the  man  had  grasped 
me,  and  he  strove  to  throw  me  over  his  head 
and  make  short  work  of  the  match.  But  I 
am  an  Indian,  and  while  he  was  striving  with 
all  his  might  I  slipped  through  his  iron  hands 
and  stood  free  upon  the  ground.  Then,  while 
he  was  gaping  in  wonder,  I  grasped  him  in 
such  a  way  that  he  could  scarce  move  either 
hand  or  foot.  I  raised  him  high  above  my 
head,  I  bore  him  half  around  the  arena,  and 
then  I  pitched  him  away  from  me,  and  he  fell 
twenty  feet  from  where  I  stood. 

"  The  people  went  almost  mad  with  excite- 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  (47 

ment ;  they  pressed  about  me  and  shook  my 
hand  till  I  thought  they  would  wring  it  loose 
from  my  arm — for  I  had  thrown  the  greatest 
and  strongest  wrestler  that  had  ever  been 
known  in  England.  Then  a  man  who  was  a 
nobleman  came  to  me,  and  he  invited  Deerfoot 
and  me  to  go  to  his  palace  to  a  banquet  that 
he  would  give  in  our  honor. 

"  I  cared  little  to  go  to  the  banquet  of  the 
great  man,  for  such  things  are  not  to  my 
taste.  But  my  companions  urged  me,  and  I 
went.  There  were  ladies  at  the  banquet,  many 
of  them  ;  all  attired  in  rich  robes,  and  with 
their  white  necks  gleaming  like  ivory.  Deer- 
foot  and  I  donned  the  full  dress  of  our  tribes, 
and  when  the  night  was  growing  old  I  was 
called  upon  to  make  a  speech.  I  stood  up 
and  talked  to  the  white  people,  and  much 
applause  was  bestowed  upon  me ;  but  while  I 
was  speaking  I  glanced  along  the  table  and 
my  speech  stopped  short,  because  I  saw  the 
two  brightest  eyes  in  the  world  gazing  into 
mine.  I  knew  the  eyes  were  those  of  the 
witch,  Raymeya,  and  I  spoke  no  more,  al- 
though the  guests  wondered  much.  And 
when  I  knew  she  was  there  the  minutes  seemed 
like  days,  and  as  soon  as  I  could  I  hastened 
away. 


148  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

"  The  next  day  the  witch  came  to  see  me. 
She  seemed  as  young  as  she  did  that  day  so 
long  before,  when  she  surprised  me  in  the 
forests;  but  she  seemed  sadder  and  more 
gentle.  She  took  my  hand,  and  held  it  to  her 
lips  and  kissed  it,  and  then  she  asked  me 
how  life  had  gone  with  me  since  my  wife  had 
died,  and  asked  if  I  were  happy.  I  told  her 
that  life  was  good,  but  it  was  no  longer  so 
sweet  to  me  as  in  those  older  days  when  I 
was  chief  among  my  own  people  in  the 
mountains ;  and  that  most  of  the  joy  of  my 
life  had  gone  out  with  the  breath  of  my 
wife.  And  then  she  said,  almost  in  a  whisper : 

" '  And  you  have  not  changed  your  mind 
concerning  the  matter  of  which  I  spoke  to  you 
in  the  forest  ? ' 

"  I  told  her  no ;  and  for  a  long  time  she 
gazed  mutely  upon  the  ground.  As  she  gazed 
upon  the  ground  I  regarded  her,  and  never 
have  the  eyes  of  men  looked  upon  a  fairer 
being.  In  Europe  I  saw  fine  pictures  of 
angels,  and  her  features  were  like  unto  the 
features  in  the  pictures.  I  was  saddened,  too, 
to  think  that  such  a  creature  was  doomed  to 
go  childless  and  loveless  through  life,  and  in 
sorrow  for  her  tears  came  to  my  eyes.  I 
turned  my  head  away,  and  when  I  turned 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH,  j^g 

again  the  woman  was  gone.  She  had  vanished, 
seemingly  into  thin  air,  just  as  she  had  done 
before. 

"  From  that  time  on  the  witch  was  much  in 
my  mind,  and  many  times  in  the  night  I  woke 
to  find  that  I  had  been  dreaming  of  her.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  in  my  sleep  she  came  and 
stood  by  my  couch,  and  gazed  on  me  with  her 
great  bright  eyes  all  filled  with  love  ;  and  she 
seemed  to  point  to  the  west,  as  though  bid- 
ding me  to  go  again  to  the  land  of  my  own 
people.  In  time  I  went  again  to  the  land  of 
my  own  people  ;  I  forsook  the  cities  and  the 
ways  of  the  white-skinned  races  ;  I  donned 
again  the  garments  of  my  tribe,  and  I  said  to 
myself  that  with  the  people  of  my  own  blood 
I  would  spend  the  sundown  of  my  life.  I 
hunted  with  the  young  men  of  my  tribe ;  I 
went  to  Moqui  to  the  dance  of  the  snakes ;  I 
journeyed  among  the  tribes  whose  lands  lie 
round  about  the  lands  of  my  own  tribe. 
Many  years  slipped  into  the  past,  and  I  had 
come  almost  to  forget  that  I  had  ever  jour- 
neyed so  much  over  the  face  of  the  earth. 
Like  my  people,  I  believe  in  magic  ;  and  many 
times  I  sat  up  far  into  the  night  listening  to 
tales  of  the  wonderful  magic  of  the  great 
Witch  of  the  South.  I  held  my  peace,  telling 


Ir0  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

no  man  that  I  knew  her ;  and  often  I  thought 
of  the  lost  land  in  the  Sierra  Madres,  of  which 
she  told  me  she  was  the  queen,  and  of  which 
she  offered  to  make  me  king  and  ruler. 

"  In  time  the  life  of  my  people  palled  upon 
me.  On  every  hand  were  the  forts  that  held 
the  white-skinned  soldiers  :  no  more  rode  our 
young  men  forth  to  battle ;  and  when  I  was 
surfeited  with  weariness  I  chose  a  strong  horse 
and  set  out  alone  to  journey  to  the  hidden 
valleys  that  lie  locked  fast  in  the  Sierra 
Madres.  I  had  many  adventures  on  the 
journey :  but  of  them  I  need  not  tell  you  as 
my  tale  is  long  without  them.  Among  the 
Navajos  and  all  the  Pueblo  tribes  I  was  treated 
as  a  loved  kinsman ;  among  the  Apaches  I 
found  that  I  was  known,  and  when  I  entered 
a  rancheria  I  would  hear  the  old  men  say : 

" '  He  who  rides  among  us  is  Lo-To-Kah  of 
the  charmed  life.  He  is  mighty  in  magic  and 
unconquerable  in  battle ;  treat  him  well,  that 
he  may  pass  on  his  way  and  leave  us  in 
peace.' 

"  And  in  time  I  came  to  lands  that  I  had 
not  seen  since  the  days  of  my  earliest  man- 
hood. Soon  I  was  in  an  unknown  land,  and 
was  journeying  in  the  lands  that  belong  to  the 
fierce  Yaquis.  Some  of  them  were  hostile, 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  -^r^ 

and  at  times  it  seemed  that  I  must  lay  aside 
my  weight  of  years  and  again  do  battle  like  a 
young  warrior.  But  once,  when  the  Yaquis 
closed  about  me  in  scowling  groups,  I  stood 
up  in  my  stirrups,  and  said  : 

" '  I  am  Lo-To-Kah  of  the  North,  and  my 
name  may  be  known  among  you.  I  am  on  a 
journey  of  peace,  and  I  care  not  to  fight ;  but 
if  I  am  not  treated  as  a  warrior  and  a  chief, 
old  as  I  am,  I  will  fill  some  Yaqui  graves.  I 
journey  to  visit  the  land  of  Raymeya.  Now 
let  me  pass,  for  I  ask  twice  for  nothing  ! ' 

"  When  I  spoke  the  name  of  the  witch  the 
Indians  looked  upon  me  in  awe,  and  they 
stood  aside  to  let  me  pass.  And  then  an  old 
chief  came  forward  and  shook  my  hand,  and 
told  me  he  had  heard  of  me  in  the  time  of 
long  ago,  when  he  and  I  were  both  warriors 
and  were  both  young.  And  the  Yaquis 
craved  me  to  abide  among  them  until  they 
could  honor  me  with  a  feast,  but  I  hastened 
on  my  way. 

"  In  time  I  came  to  a  place  where  the 
valleys  and  mountain  passes  ceased,  and  then 
my  way  was  up,  up,  up,  toward  the  very  crest 
of  the  frowning  mountains.  Soon  I  was  at  the 
timber  line  ;  then  I  came  to  the  region  where 
snow  lies  forever  on  the  rocks;  and  then  I 


152  LO-TO-K AH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

was  in  a  region  of  snow  and  hail  and  storms, 
a  desolate  region  never  before  trodden  by 
the  foot  of  man  or  beast.  My  horse  died  in 
that  place,  and  I  was  almost  minded  to  lie 
down  and  die.  Yet  hope  was  with  me  and  I 
struggled  on  and  on,  sometimes  falling  into  a 
chasm  of  snow,  sometimes  stopping  to  rub  my 
frozen  feet  and  hands,  and  then  going  onward 
and  always  up.  At  last,  while  stones  of  hail 
were  almost  knocking  the  breath  from  my 
body,  I  came  suddenly  to  a  wall  of  masonry, 
rising  out  of  the  snow  sheer  before  me.  I 
believed  then  that  my  reason  was  gone  and 
that  my  mind  was  wandering  in  delirium,  but 
I  placed  my  hand  on  the  wall  and  followed  it. 
It  was  so  high  that  I  could  not  look  over  it ; 
it  was  impenetrable,  its  massive  side  not 
being  broken  by  a  single  opening  of  any  kind. 
I  followed  it  for  many  miles,  going  on  long 
after  the  storm  had  ceased  ;  and  just  as  my 
strength  was  gone  and  I  could  go  no  farther, 
I  came  to  a  place  where  a  ladder  of  rawhide 
was  hanging  to  the  wall.  I  grasped  the  lad- 
der, and  with  my  strength  leaving  me  at  every 
step,  I  painfully  climbed  to  the  top  of  the 
wall. 

"  Friend,  the  people  of  your  kind  believe  in 
a  land  of  Paradise — a  land  of  joy  where  milk 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  j^-j 

and  honey  flow,  and  every  grace  is  known. 
And  I  say  to  you  that  your  land  of  Paradise 
can  be  no  fairer  than  was  the  land  that  opened 
to  my  astonished  view  when  I  had  reached 
the  summit  of  that  cruel  wall.  The  mountain 
I  was  on  seemed  to  be  split  in  twain,  and  the 
wall  was  on  the  very  crest  of  such  a  precipice 
as  those  that  are  seen  in  the  Grand  Canon  of 
the  Colorado.  A  few  feet  below  me  was  a 
roadway,  cut  out  of  living  rock,  which  ran 
around  the  face  of  the  cliff ;  and  more  than  a 
mile  below  me  was  a  laughing  valley  of  rip- 
pling rivers  and  groves  of  trees,  of  golden 
cities  and  level  lawns.  Spires  and  minarets 
rose  above  the  cities,  lakes  glistened  in  the 
sun,  boats  shot  over  the  waters,  and  from  all 
the  valleys  came  up  the  incense  of  flowers 
and  the  smell  of  growing  crops.  And  as  I  sat 
and  gazed  into  the  valley  I  knew  it  to  be  the 
land  whose  people  called  Raymeya  queen, 
and  I  felt  that  the  end  of  my  journey  was 
reached.  That  was  the  land  of  which  I  might 
have  been  king ;  those  golden  cities  might 
have  been  mine ;  and  my  life  might  have  been 
lived  out  in  that  wondrously  beautiful  valley, 
if  it  had  not  been  for  the  love  I  bore  for  Zeetah. 
Then  memories  of  Zeetah  came  crowding  back 
to  me ;  crowding  back  over  the  long,  lonely, 


je^  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

vanished  years  that  I  had  lived  since  she  went 
from  me.  And  as  I  mused  of  her  and  of  her 
love  for  me,  I  gazed  again  into  the  valley, 
and  felt  that  all  its  wonders  and  honors  had 
been  well  lost. 

"  Then  I  climbed  off  the  wall  into  the  road- 
way of  stone,  and  started  down  into  the  valley. 
Soon  I  was  halted  by  a  bronzed  warrior,  who 
carried  a  silver  spear.  In  a  tongue  that  I  did 
not  know  he  said  words  to  me,  and  when  I 
answered  him  in  the  Spanish  speech  he  shook 
his  head  in  perplexity,  and  gazed  on  me  in 
wonder.  But  he  answered  me  in  the  same 
tongue,  and  he  lowered  his  spear  and  walked 
by  my  side,  and  together  we  went  down  the 
winding  roadway  that  led  into  the  valley. 
When  we  came  to  the  level  land  we  met  men, 
women  and  children,  and  they  all  stopped  and 
gazed  on  me,  and  asked  questions  of  my 
guide.  I  was  truly  in  a  sorry  state  :  my  clothes 
were  worn  out,  my  hands  and  feet  were  frozen 
and  swollen,  and  my  face  and  body  were 
covered  with  scratches  and  bruises.  And 
thus,  hungry,  naked,  penniless,  and  ill,  I  was 
led  into  that  golden  city  of  which  I  might 
have  been  the  ruler.  I  was  being  led  to  a 
prison  that  was  kept  for  such  wandering 
Indians  as  found  their  way  into  the  valley ; 


L  O-  TO-KA  H  A  ND  THE  WI TCH.  j  c  e 

but  as  we  were  passing  a  palace  of  marble  I 
saw  the  eyes  of  Raymeya  gaze  out  from  a 
window.  At  first  she  did  not  see  me,  but 
soon  her  eyes  fell  upon  me,  and  then  she 
called  to  the  officer  who  was  guiding  me,  tell- 
ing him  to  stop.  He  stopped  and  stood  mutely 
by  my  side  ;  and  soon  another  officer  came, 
and  ordered  that  I  be  taken  before  the  queen. 
I  was  led  through  the  palace-grounds  into  the 
apartment  of  the  queen,  and  she  rose  from 
her  place  and  ordered  that  I  be  left  alone  with 
her.  When  we  were  alone  the  queen  knelt  at 
my  side ;  she  took  my  hand  in  hers,  and  her 
eyes  were  aflame  with  joy.  She  said  : 

" '  And  have  you  come  to  me  at  last,  O 
Lo-To-Kah  ?  The  time  has  been  long ;  the 
years  have  passed  on  leaden  feet ;  but  I  en- 
dured, because  I  believed  that  in  time  you 
would  come.' 

"  I  said  to  her  :  '  Raymeya,  he  who  stands 
before  you  is  an  old  man,  whose  days  to  live 
are  few.  I  came  to  this  place  because  I  tired 
of  the  land  of  my  own  people  ;  but  I  came  to 
seek  no  bride.  I  have  a  bride  who  waits  for 
me  in  a  land  as  fair  as  is  this  land  of  yours.' 

"  Raymeya  rose  and  looked  upon  me  in 
sorrow  ;  and  she  was  not  one  day  older  than 
when  she  came  to  me  in  the  depths  of  the 


j,c(5  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  JVITCff. 

forest,  or  when  I  saw  her  in  the  greatest  city 
of  the  world.  The  years  had  gone  on,  chang- 
ing babes  to  men,  and  men  back  to  earth  ;  but 
the  hand  of  time  had  not  fallen  on  the  fair  face 
or  form  of  the  witch  who  was  ever  young. 

"We  seated  ourselves  and  drank  wine  ;  and 
we  talked  for  many  hours,  and  when  we  were 
through  talking,  Raymeya  was  my  friend,  and 
she  no  longer  craved  my  love.  I  told  her  all 
the  tale  of  my  journey  through  life.  I  told 
her  that  never  could  I  love  any  woman  but 
the  one  who  had  been  my  wife ;  and  she  said 
it  was  well,  and  that  she  would  speak  to  me 
no  more  of  love.  Then  she  gazed  into  my 
face  for  a  long  time,  her  eyes  filled  with  tears ; 
and  then  she  arose  and  walked  up  and  down 
the  room,  moaning  to  herself.  But  soon  she 
became  quiet ;  she  smiled,  and  laid  her  hand 
on  my  shoulder  and  called  me  friend;  and 
from  that  time  forth  she  spoke  no  more  of 
love. 

"  I  was  tired  and  hungry,  and  the  queen 
ordered  attendants  to  bathe  me,  and  to  give 
me  food  and  garments ;  and  when  I  was 
dressed  and  had  eaten,  I  lay  down  and  slept 
for  many  hours. 

"  The  next  day  I  walked  with  the  queen 
over  the  streets  of  her  city,  and  wherever  we 


The  Statue. 


LO-TO-K AH  AND  THE  WITCH.  T^g 

went  the  people  bowed  in  reverence.  The 
streets  of  the  city  were  lined  with  beds  of 
flowers  ;  in  the  center  were  lawns  of  well-kept 
grass,  and  the  houses  were  all  of  marble  and 
fine  stones,  and  the  domes  and  spires  and 
minarets  were  of  beaten  gold.  Never  in  all 
my  wanderings  in  the  far  lands  of  the  earth 
had  I  seen  anything  so  beautiful,  and  many 
times  I  asked  of  the  queen,  in  wonder,  how  it 
had  all  come  to  be.  But  she  smiled  and  told 
me  to  wait,  and  in  good  time  she  would  tell 
me  all  the  tale  of  her  life.  And  I  was  con- 
tent to  wait,  while  we  wandered  on  through 
the  streets  and  plazas  of  that  enchanted  city. 
Soon  we  were  tired,  and  as  soon  as  the  queen 
waved  her  hand  a  chariot  drawn  by  four 
horses  came  to  our  side.  We  entered  the 
chariot,  and  the  queen  ordered  the  driver  to 
go  to  the  Plaza  of  the  Statues. 

"  The  Plaza  of  the  Statues  was  a  circular 
place,  hemmed  in  with  palaces  of  marble,  and 
in  the  place  golden  statues  were  scattered 
about,  intermingled  with  statues  carved  in 
the  purest  white  marble.  In  the  centre  was 
a  colossal  golden  statue,  towering  above  the 
others.  It  was  of  beaten  gold,  and  when  I 
gazed  upon  it  I  almost  fainted  with  wonder, 
for  the  statue  was  of  myself.  It  was  myself, 


j60  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

as  I  was  when  a  young  man.  The  habili- 
ments were  those  of  my  people,  and  a  mighty 
war-club  was  in  the  hands. 

" '  That,'  said  the  queen,  pointing  to  the 
golden  statue  of  myself,  'is  the  image  of  the 
king  of  this  land — the  king  who  never  came  to 
claim  his  own.' 

"  The  eyes  of  the  Queen  filled  with  tears, 
and  we  drove  in  silence  away  from  that  place. 
That  matter  of  the  statue  troubled  me,  and 
from  the  time  I  had  seen  it  I  yearned  to 
leave  that  fair  city,  and  go  again  to  live  out 
the  remnant  of  my  life  in  the  rude  land  of  my 
own  people.  And  on  the  next  day  I  said  to 
the  queen  :  '  O  Raymeya,  tell  me  now  the  tale 
of  your  life — the  tale  you  promised  me  so  long 
ago  in  the  forests  that  cover  the  mountains  of 
the  La  Platas.  Let  me  know  the  truth  of  the 
mystery  of  your  life,  and  your  endless  youth, 
and  your  changeless  beauty ;  and  then  let  me 
go  out  of  your  land  and  out  of  your  life,  and 
let  me  go  back  to  the  land  where  I  was  born. 
I  am  but  a  wild  man,  and  I  am  out  of  place 
among  the  splendors  of  your  royal  city.  You 
have  a  warm  place  in  my  heart ;  you  seem 
at  once  my  daughter  and  my  friend,  but  it  is 
best  that  I  abide  not  here  with  you.' 

"  And  the  queen  told  me  the  tale  of  her  life. 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  IV ITCH.  I6i 

In  the  lodges  of  my  people,  when  the  wild 
mountain  storms  were  howling,  when  the  light- 
nings were  flashing,  and  the  thunders  were 
shrieking  among  the  mountain  crags  and 
forests,  often  have  I  sat  and  listened  to  strange, 
wild  tales  that  were  told  by  the  story-tellers  of 
my  tribe ;  in  the  printed  books  of  the  white- 
skinned  peoples  I  have  read  many  tales  so  mar- 
vellous that  they  seemed  untrue ;  but  never  in 
all  the  years  of  my  life  have  I  heard  so  strange 
a  tale  as  that  which  was  told  to  me  in  that 
luxurious  palace,  by  the  beautiful  woman  who 
was  always  young.  I  will  not  repeat  to  you 
all  of  her  tale,  for  the  night  grows  old ;  and, 
too,  I  fear  at  best  you  will  think  I  speak  to 
you  in  lies.  But  as  plainly  and  as  shortly  as 
I  can,  I  will  repeat  the  tale  that  was  told  to 
me  by  Raymeya. 

"  Raymeya  told  me  that  she  was  born  in 
Spain,  before  the  time  when  Columbus  sought 
the  Western  world.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
a  pirate,  and  in  her  early  life  she  felt  great 
remorse  for  the  life  that  was  lived  by  herself 
and  her  people,  and  she  entered  a  convent  as 
a  nun.  There  she  fell  in  love  with  a  priest, 
and  in  order  not  to  lay  herself  open  to  reproach, 
she  stole  away  at  night,  and  fled  from  the 
convent.  At  that  time  South  America  was  the 


Z62  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

haven  for  all  men  of  adventurous  spirits,  and 
at  the  time  she  fled  from  the  convent  a  fleet 
was  fitting  out  to  sail  to  that  land  to  seek  for 
a  land  of  gold,  whose  fame  had  reached  earlier 
explorers.  She  went  to  the  admiral  of  the 
fleet,  and  begged  that  he  would  take  her  with 
him,  and  the  admiral  became  enamored  of  her 
beauty,  and  begged  of  her  to  go  as  his  wife. 
They  were  married  before  they  sailed,  and  she 
landed  on  the  western  shores  as  a  wife.  In 
America  the  pioneers  were  wild  over  the  tales 
of  El  Dorado,  the  Gilded  Chief  of  the  land  of 
Cundinamarca — a  man  who  was  said  to  have 
so  much  gold  that  his  house  was  built  of  it, 
and  his  body  was  powdered  afresh  each  day 
with  gold  dust.  Raymeya's  husband  set  out 
to  find  that  land,  and  his  wife  went  with  him. 
And  after  months  of  hardship  they  came  to 
the  plain  of  Cundinamarca,  and  they  found 
only  a  village  of  seemingly  wild  Indians,  who 
had  no  gold,  and  who  fought  like  demons. 
And  the  Indians  said  there  was  no  Gilded 
Chief. 

"  The  land  of  Cundinamarca  seemed  to  be 
full  of  curses  for  the  Spaniards,  and  fevers 
and  pestilences  came  upon  them,  and  death 
abode  in  their  camps  by  night  and  by  day. 
Some  made  their  way  back  to  the  seashore, 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  jg-j 

but  many  were  too  ill  to  move,  and  among 
those  were  the  commander  and  his  wife. 
When  all  but  a  few  were  dead,  there  came  to 
their  miserable  camp  the  one  whom  they  had 
sold  their  lives  to  find — the  Golden  King 
himself.  When  the  aliens  had  entered  his 
land,  he  had  taken  all  but  a  few  of  his  people 
and  withdrawn  to  an  almost  inaccessible  val- 
ley, and  there  they  had  hidden  themselves  and 
their  wealth.  But  every  day  spies  went  to  the 
valley  and  told  of  the  ills  that  befell  the  white- 
skinned  invaders.  When  the  white  men  were 
so  few  that  all  danger  was  past,  the  king  had 
gone  forth  to  meet  them  ;  and  no  sooner  had 
he  come  among  them  than  his  heart  caught 
fire  from  love  of  Raymeya.  The  Inca  pro- 
fessed great  love  for  the  Spaniards ;  he  took 
them  to  his  hidden  city,  and  he  studied  their 
speech.  And  when  he  had  learned  to  talk 
with  them,  he  sought  to  win  Raymeya  for  his 
bride.  At  first  she  refused,  but  he  showed 
her  his  vast  stores  of  gold  and  precious  gems ; 
and  the  woman  was  tempted,  and  she  sold  her 
honor  for  a  price.  The  warriors  of  the  Inca 
then  fell  upon  the  Spaniards  and  killed  all  but 
the  commander  ;  and  with  her  own  hands  Ray- 
meya slew  her  husband  that  she  might  be  free 
from  him,  and  free  to  wed  the  Golden  Chief. 


!  6 4  L°- TO-KA  H  A ND  THE  WI TCH. 

"  Raymeya  told  me  that  in  the  gray  dawn 
of  the  next  morning  after  she  had  killed  her 
husband,  while  she  was  lying  with  staring, 
sleepless  eyes  by  the  side  of  the  sleeping  Inca, 
the  miracle  took  place  that  in  South  America 
is  still  remembered,  and  is  called  the  miracle 
of  Our  Lady  of  the  Wilderness.  The  appari- 
tion of  an  angel  formed  before  the  eyes  of 
Raymeya,  the  angel's  hands  were  pointed  at 
her,  and  then  these  words  were  said  : 

"  '  O  sinner,  viler  than  the  work  of  a  fiend 
has  been  your  deed  this  night !  To  gain 
wealth  and  place  you  have  taken  human  life, 
and  the  soul  of  your  victim  is  now  in 
Purgatory.  Until  that  soul  is  freed,  you  shall 
not  grow  old,  and  the  passing  of  time  shall 
harm  you  not ;  but  you  shall  be  denied  the 
blessing  of  death.  And  you  shall  wander  over 
the  earth,  seeking  something  you  shall  not  find, 
and  bearing  the  memory  of  this  time  with  you 
forever ! ' 

"  Thus  it  is  that  Raymeya  is  ever  young  and 
ever  fair ;  thus  it  is  that  she  wanders  over  the 
earth,  seeking  love  and  finding  it  not ;  thus  it 
is  that  she  is  the  most  unhappy  woman  who 
breathes  the  sweet  air  that  the  Great  Spirits 
have  given  to  the  children  of  men. 

"  In  time  the  Inca  died.     During  the  long, 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  I(^e 

almost  countless  years  that  have  been  from 
then  till  now,  Raymeya  gained  wisdom  and 
the  wealth  that  is  now  hers.  Long  ago  she 
found  the  hidden  valley  in  the  Sierra  Madres, 
occupied  then  by  a  tribe  as  wild  as  the  Yaquis. 
Because  they  could  not  kill  her  they  made  her 
their  queen  ;  and  she  wrought  with  them  and 
their  children,  and  the  children  of  their  chil- 
dren's children,  until  the  result  is  that  her 
people  are  a  wise  and  learned  people,  who 
dwell  in  a  golden  city  in  the  fairest  valley 
upon  the  earth.  She  has  taught  her  people  all 
things  except  knowledge  of  the  world ;  but  she 
never  allows  them  to  journey  beyond  the 
mountains  that  shut  in  their  valley.  She  her- 
self wanders  up  and  down  the  earth,  appear- 
ing sometimes  in  a  wild  camp,  disguised  as  an 
Indian  woman  ;  then  going  as  a  great  lady  in 
the  courts  of  kings,  and  sometimes  going  as  a 
nun  to  nurse  the  dying  when  the  great  wars 
are  raging.  But  all  the  time  she  bears  in  her 
bosom  a  heart  that  is  on  fire,  and  joy  is  a 
thing  that  is  not  known  to  her." 

Lo-To-Kah  abruptly  ceased  speaking ;  he 
rolled  a  corn-husk  cigarette  and  lighted  it,  and 
then  he  walked  up  and  down  the  room  and 
smoked,  his  head  bent  low  in  thought.  When 


j66  LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 

he  had  finished  smoking  he  sat  down  again 
and  began  talking.  He  said  : 

"  Friend,  when  you  think  of  all  the  blessings 
the  Great  Spirits  have  given  to  us  of  earth, 
remember  that  the  greatest  of  all  is  death.  It 
is  the  end  of  trouble,  the  ceasing  forever  of 
evil-doing.  It  will  come  to  me  soon,  and  may 
come  to  you  also  at  any  time ;  for  a  man's  life 
is  but  as  a  breath  of  air.  My  mind  now  is 
often  filled  with  thoughts  of  a  fair  land  that  I 
soon  shall  journey  in ;  a  land  as  fair  as  the 
land  where  Raymeya  rules,  but  a  land  where 
no  one's  heart  is  like  a  stinging  adder." 

The  old  man  spread  his  blanket  on  the 
floor,  and  it  was  not  long  till  I  also  slept,  for 
the  night  was  almost  gone. 

In  the  morning  I  studied  the  old  Indian 
with  a  new  interest.  He  had  travelled  so  far 
and  wide,  he  was  so  much  wiser  than  the  men 
of  his  race,  that  it  seemed  strange  that  he 
should  believe  such  strange,  weird  tales  as 
the  one  he  had  told  me  the  night  before.  I 
hoped  he  would  speak  further  about  the  witch  ; 
but  he  did  not  mention  her,  and  seemed  to 
forget  that  he  had  spoken  of  her,  or  that  such 
a  person  lived.  He  told  me  old  tales  of  the 
long  ago  ;  he  described  the  "  outfits  "  that  used 
to  journey  down  the  trail  to  Santa  Fe'  before 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH.  t6y 

the  railroads  were  built,  and  he  discussed  the 
various  army  officers  who  had  fought  in  the 
West.  The  day  was  hot,  and  I  slept  an  hour 
after  noon.  When  I  awoke  and  went  outside, 
I  found  the  old  chief  on  his  pony,  waiting  to 
bid  me  farewell.  He  said  : 

"  Being  in  this  place  has  brought  to  my 
memory  other  places  where  the  Pueblo  peoples 
dwell,  and  has  made  me  long  to  see  some  of 
these  places  again  before  I  die.  I  want  once 
more  to  ride  up  the  trail,  lined  with  wild  plum 
trees,  that  leads  to  the  tall  houses  of  Taos. 
Once  more  I  desire  to  rest  under  the  giant 
alamos  that  grow  in  the  bare  plaza  at  San 
Ildefonso.  Once  more  I  desire  to  journey 
over  the  barren  lands  that  lie  round  about 
Picuris,  and  to  visit  friends  of  mine  who  dwell 
in  Tesuque.  I  long  to  look  again  upon  the 
great  rock  of  Acoma,  and  then  I  desire  to 
journey  to  San  Juan  where  are  sacred  pictures 
of  Po-so-yemmo  the  God  of  Water,  and  where 
a  priest  who  is  my  friend  has  concealed  in  his 
house  the  sacred  snakes  that  are  cherished  and 
worshipped  from  one  year  to  another.  To  see 
all  these  places  requires  a  long  journey  and 
time  is  now  my  scantest  possession,  so  I  must 
say  farewell  and  be  on  my  way.  I  hope  to 
meet  with  you  again  soon  ;  but  if  I  do  not  see 


i68 


LO-TO-KAH  AND  THE  WITCH. 


you  until  after  we  have  both  taken  the  four 
days'  journey  across  the  bad  lands  that  lie  be- 
tween life  and  the  Happy  Hunting  Grounds  re- 
member that  old  Lo-To-Kah  the  Ute  counts  you 
as  much  his  friend  at  though  your  skin  was 
red  or  his  was  white.  Adios  !  " 


THE  DEATH  OF  LOTOKAH. 


FOR  several  days  the  Indians  had  been  con- 
gregating in  the  valley  of  the  Rio  de  los  Pinos 
to  celebrate  the  great  annual  bear-dance.  First 
the  little  grove  of  tall  cottonwoods  was  filled 
with  tents  ;  then  numerous  wreaths  of  smoke 
were  to  be  seen  rising  from  the  crest  of 
the  mesa  on  the  west,  and  then  tents,  ap- 
parently springing  from  the  ground,  lined  the 
river  bank  for  almost  a  mile.  The  ah-vick- 
wock-et,  or  corral  of  evergreen  boughs,  in 
which  the  dance  was  to  be  held,  had  been  in 
readiness  for  several  days :  the  bands  of  sing- 
ers had  learned  their  songs  by  long  practice, 
the  women  had  prepared  a  plentiful  supply  of 

moratches,  or  "  singing-sticks,"  and  all  was  in 

171 


j  *  2  THE  DEA  TH  OF  L  O-  TO-KA  H. 

readiness  for  the  ceremonies  and  festivities. 
But  friends  who  had  not  seen  each  other  for  a 
year  were  desirous  of  visiting  before  the  four- 
days'  dance  began  :  hunters  had  come  in  who 
had  skins  and  pelts  to  barter  or  to  wager  on 
their  luck  at  the  game  of  kan-yu-te,  and  the 
chiefs  postponed  the  opening  of  the  dance 
from  day  to  day  in  order  that  all  might  have 
time  to  race  and  visit  and  gamble  to  their  full 
content.  The  camp  and  the  green  enclosure 
and  the  groups  of  gayly-clad  Indians  all  went 
to  make  up  a  picturesque  sight.  Here  would 
be  seen  a  solitary  Brave,  his  blanket  wrapped 
to  his  eyes,  standing  apart  in  silent  dignity ; 
there  would  be  seen  a  group  of  boys  playing 
kan-yu-te  with  beads  as  stakes  ;  and  over  the 
mesa  could  be  seen  an  incoming  caravan  of  a 
dozen  riders,  moving  in  single  file,  the  tents 
fastened  to  poles  that  were  strapped  to  the 
horses  of  the  women.  I  watched  the  sights 
all  day,  wandering  from  tent  to  tent  and  from 
group  to  group.  The  day  before  I  had  spent 
with  Lo-To-Kah,  but  on  this  morning  a  young 
Indian  had  come  to  me  and  said  that  the  old 
man  was  sick ;  that  famed,  pwu-au-guts,  or  medi- 
cine-men, were  going  to  make  a  great  chant  over 
him  ;  and  that  no  visitor,  friend  or  foe,  could 
see  the  old  warrior  that  day. 


THE  DEATH  OF  LO- TO-KA H.  j 7 , 

As  the  sun  went  down  that  evening  I  stood 
at  the  entrance  to  the  tent  of  one  of  my  friends 
and  gazed  over  the  camp  as  it  lay  radiant  in 
the  light  of  the  slanting  sun-rays.  Tents  that 
had  been  a  dirty  yellow  by  day  now  took  on  a 
golden  hue ;  the  white  tents  seemed  pink,  and 
even  the  brown  tents  were  tinged  with  the 
rare,  mellow  light  of  the  sunset.  Soon  the  sun 
sank  behind  the  white  walls  of  the  towering 
La  Plata  Mountains,  and  then  wreaths  of 
smoke  could  be  seen  ascending  from  a  hun- 
dred can-nces — the  name  by  which  those  people 
call  their  tents.  Soon  it  was  dark,  and  all 
that  could  be  heard  was  the  crooning  of  the 
moratchales  as  they  practised  the  songs  for  the 
morrow.  Just  as  I  was  going  within  the  tent, 
I  saw  a  bright  light  flare  up  in  a  small  can-nee 
that  stood  apart  from  the  others.  The  light 
shone  so  brightly  that  at  first  it  seemed  that 
the  tent  must  be  on  fire,  and  the  figures  within 
it  were  sharply  silhouetted  against  the  canvas. 
I  started  to  walk  to  this  tent,  and  as  I  drew 
near  there  came  from  it  the  weirdest, 
most  uncanny  wail  that  I  ever  heard.  It 
seemed  like  the  sound  of  three  or  four  voices, 
rising  and  falling  in  unison.  First  there  was 
a  wail,  long,  quavering  and  weird,  that  might 
have  been  the  despairing  cry  of  a  lost  soul ; 


!^4  THE  DBA  TH  OF  LO-TO-KAH. 

then  a  short,  almost  painful,  pause ;  and 
then  the  weird  notes  again,  sinking  lower  and 
lower,  until  they  seemed  to  go  down,  with  a 
quavering  cadence,  into  the  earth.  Then 
again  came  the  high,  uncanny  wail,  and  I 
knew  it  was  the  chant  of  the  pwu-au-guts,  who 
were  "making medicine  "over  Lo-To-Kah,  and 
I  feared  that  my  friend  must  be  very  ill.  As 
I  approached  the  tent  I  was  stopped  by  a  tall, 
bronzed  figure  that  stood  in  silence  a  few  feet 
from  the  entry,  and  a  sharp  lance  was  lowered 
to  a  level  with  my  breast.  It  was  a  guard, — 
one  of  those  who  always  stand  watch  over  a 
medicine-tent  when  ceremonies  of  supreme 
importance  are  being  performed.  The  guard 
looked  at  me  closely,  for  the  night  was  dark, 
and  then  he  lowered  his  spear  and  said : 

"  Is  it  you,  friend  of  mine  ?  I  knew  you  not 
in  the  darkness,  for  I  am  growing  old  and  my 
eyes  have  lost  much  of  their  keenness.  But 
I  cannot  allow  even  you  to  go  nearer — no,  not 
if  you  were  one  of  our  own  chiefs.  Sacred 
po-o-kan-te  is  being  made  over  the  old  man, 
Lo-To-Kah,  and  no  man  can  now  go  to  him 
unless  by  his  own  earnest  wish.  I  fear  the 
time  of  Lo-To-Kah  has  almost  come  to  an 
end,  and  that  even  the  great  pwu-au-guts  who 
are  with  him  cannot  lengthen  his  stay  among 


THE  DBA  TH  OF  L  O-  TO-KA  H.  177 

the  people  of  the  earth.  And  now  good-night 
for  we  must  not  converse  here." 

I  turned  to  walk  away,  my  heart  heavy 
with  sadness  because  of  the  sickness  of  the 
oaken-hearted  old  man  who  lay  within  that 
dreary  tent  with  a  lot  of  half-naked  savages 
crooning  mummery  over  him.  I  should  have 
liked  to  send  for  a  white  physician ;  but  I 
knew  that  even  Lo-To-Kah  had  little  faith  in 
the  efficiency  of  white  men's  medicine;  and 
then,  too,  it  would  have  been  a  dangerous 
place  for  a  physician  in  case  the  old  man 
died,  for  the  Indians  would  almost  surely  have 
accused  him  of  witchery.  I  retired  and  slept 
till  midnight,  when  I  was  called  by  a  young 
Indian,  who  entered  my  tent  without  ceremony 
and  shook  me. 

"  Arise,"  said  he,  "  and  go  with  me  to  the 
medicine  can-nee,  where  lies  Lo-To-Kah.  The 
evil  witches  have  had  the  old  man's  brain 
since  the  sun  went  down,  and  he  has  talked 
only  of  things  that  were  before  you  or  I  were 
born,  and  he  has  not  known  the  men  who 
were  with  him  this  night.  But  his  brain  is 
now  clear,  and  he  has  sent  for  you.  Come, 
let  us  go." 

It  was  the  moonless  time  of  the  night,  and 
all  objects  were  shrouded  in  sombre  blackness. 


!  yg  THE  DBA  TH  OF  LO-TO-KAH. 

The  lights  from  the  fires  had  gone  out  in  all 
but  the  medicine-tent,  and  even  that  burned 
faintly.  As  we  came  to  the  can-nee  the  guard 
stood  mute  as  we  passed  him,  and  when  we 
entered,  the  medicine-men  ceased  chanting 
and  sat  down  on  the  ground,  which  served  as 
floor.  There  was  nothing  in  the  tent  but  the 
fire  in  the  center,  and  a  heap  of  furs  upon 
which  the  old  man  lay.  He  was  only  half- 
dressed  ;  his  skin  leggings  and  moccasins  were 
on,  but  in  his  frenzy  he  had  torn  his  cloth 
shirt  almost  to  shreds.  Then  I  knew  how 
sick  Lo-To-Kah  was,  and  I  feared  that  he 
might  never  see  another  sunrise.  He  raised 
himself  upon  his  elbow  and  looked  straight  at 
me ;  it  was  evident,  however,  that  he  was  de- 
lirious and  did  not  see  me.  Half-rising  he 
clenched  his  hand  and  said  : 

"  Oh,  fools !  false  makers  of  medicine ; 
idiotic  singers  in  the  wind !  why  do  you  not 
send  for  my  friend  ?  Am  I  so  old  and  so 
weak  and  of  so  little  account  that  I  must  lie 
impotent  upon  my  back  and  be  ruled  by 
whimpering  coyotes  like  you?  Bring  my 
friend,  I  say;  or,  old  as  I  am,  I  will  make 
you  quiver  under  the  weight  of  my  hand  !  " 

I  took  the  old  man's  hand,  and  at  once  he 
knew  me.  He  took  my  hand  in  both  his 


THE  DEA  Tfl  OF  L  O-  TO-KA  H.  \Jg 

wrinkled,  wasted  palms ;  he  closed  his  fingers 
tightly  over  my  own,  and  then  closed  his  eyes 
wearily  and  lay  back  upon  his  couch.  Pres- 
ently, he  opened  his  eyes  and  said  : 

"  Forgive  me,  O  medicine-men,  for  my  anger. 
I  am  old  and  sick  and  my  temper  is  like  the 
temper  of  a  hag ;  but  I  mean  you  no  ill,  and  I 
crave  your  pardon." 

Then,  still  holding  my  hand,  he  once  more 
closed  his  eyes  and  lay  back  upon  his  couch 
of  furs.  It  was  easy  to  see  that  he  had  suf- 
fered greatly.  There  was  blood  on  his  palms, 
where  he  had  dug  his  finger-nails  in  paroxysms 
of  pain ;  there  were  streaks  under  his  eyes, 
that  showed  darkly  against  even  his  dark  skin, 
and  a  slight  clammy  perspiration  had  broken 
out  on  his  forehead.  He  held  my  hand  limply, 
and  there  seemed  no  more  strength  in  his  grip 
than  there  would  be  in  the  grasp  of  a  child. 
It  was  truly  a  sad  sight  to  see  that  iron-hearted 
old  man — that  old  Indian  who  had  been  a 
human  lion,  fierce,  yet  noble — going  weakly 
and  painfully  down  to  his  death.  Time  was 
when  his  strength  had  been  as  the  strength  of 
a  giant,  when  his  prowess  was  so  terrible  that 
it  had  been  heralded  to  the  ends  of  the  world 
that  the  Indians  knew,  and  when  his  name 
was  feared  from  the  frozen  North  to  the  wilder- 


j g0  THE  DEA  TH  OP  LO-TO-KAH. 

nesses  of  the  unexplored  Sierra  Madre  Mount- 
ains. His  life  had  been  long,  reaching  almost 
to  eighty  years,  and  his  name  had  become  old 
in  Indian  tales  of  battle.  Lo-To-Kah  it  was 
who  had  fought  a  tribe  of  Navajos  single- 
handed,  and  had  come  out  victor ;  it  was  he 
who  had  fought  a  grizzly  bear,  hand-to-hand, 
to  save  the  child  of  a  thieving  Mexican  who 
had  robbed  him ;  it  was  he  who  was  both  ad- 
mired and  feared  by  the  frontier  soldiers  of 
fifty  years  ago  ;  it  was  he  who  in  the  heat  of 
battle,  when  sorely  put  upon  and  disarmed, 
had  torn  up  a  sapling  by  the  roots  and  smitten 
his  enemies  to  death  with  the  ponderous 
weapon ;  and  it  was  he  who  had  journeyed 
more  and  farther  in  strange  lands  than  any 
Indian  of  any  tribe  except  old  Deerfoot,  the 
Seneca, — hale  old  Deerfoot,  who  is  wandering 
yet! 

Lo-To-Kah  was  an  Indian  who  had  kept 
pace  to  the  fullest  degree  with  the  changes  in 
the  destinies  of  his  people  ;  who  had  learned 
the  customs,  the  languages,  and  even  some- 
thing of  the  literature  of  the  white- skinned 
hordes  who  had  overrun  the  ancestral  lands  of 
his  people  as  the  locusts  overran  Egypt.  But 
he  was  ever  an  Indian,  and  he  was  dying  the 
death  of  an  Indian; — not  a  death  in  battle, 


THE  DBA  TH  OF  L  O-  TO-KA  H.  j  g  r 

stripped  to  the  skin  for  the  fray  and  with  the 
scalps  of  hated  rivals  hanging  to  his  leathern 
belt,  but  as  an  old  Indian  who  had  outrun  fate 
and  outwitted  the  spirits  of  war  should  die 
— in  an  Indian  can-nee,  surrounded  by  the 
shamans  and  priests  of  his  people  who  made 
po-o-kan-te,  or  magic,  that  was  to  clear  the  way 
of  the  undaunted  old  man's  spirit  to  the  abodes 
of  the  blest  in  the  bright  hunting-grounds 
where  there  is  no  evil. 

The  flower  of  the  civilization  of  America 
and  of  Europe  had  been  seen  by  Lo-To-Kah. 
Great  men  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  and  Latin 
races  had  received  him  as  an  equal  and  had 
been  glad  to  call  him  friend  ;  wealth  had  come 
to  him  only  to  be  wasted  ;  but  in  his  old  age 
he  had  yearned  again  for  the  bare,  brown 
plains  and  the  white-crowned  mountains  of 
the  land  of  his  youth,  and  he  had  gone  back 
to  his  own  people.  And  now  his  tale  of  life 
was  almost  told,  and  I  was  the  only  man  of 
an  alien  race  who  was  near  to  write  the  end 
to  the  last  sad  chapter. 

After  lying  still  and  silent  for  a  few  minutes, 
the  old  man  awoke  with  a  start  and  almost 
leaped  to  his  feet.  His  mouth  twitched  and 
his  eyes  rolled,  and  it  was  easy  to  see  that  he 
was  again  delirious.  Rising  to  his  feet, — a 


! 8 2  THE  DEATH  OF  LO- TO-KA H. 

thing  which  I  did  not  think  he  had  the 
strength  to  do, — he  shaded  his  eyes  with  his 
hand  and  peered  away  as  though  he  were 
scanning  a  plain  or  a  wide  stretch  of  country, 
although  in  reality  he  could  not  have  seen 
farther  than  the  side  of  the  tent.  As  he 
gazed,  every  muscle  of  his  body  became  tense, 
every  vestige  of  weakness  seemed  to  leave 
him,  and  it  seemed  that  he  was  a  strong  man 
again.  It  was  easy  to  see  that  in  imagination 
he  was  living  over  some  long-past  episode 
in  his  life.  Suddenly,  he  waved  his  hand  in 
the  air  and  shouted : 

"  Ho,  warriors,  the  Comanches  are  coming  ! 
Look  !  Do  you  not  see  them  on  the  crest  of 
the  mesa — ten  of  them  to  every  one  of  us  ? 
Lasso  your  horses,  look  to  the  strings  of  your 
bows,  and  let  us  meet  them  before  they  can 
come  upon  us  !  O/i,  la-ay-lilla-ho  !  " — shouting 
his  war-cry  in  a  loud,  clear  tone  that  echoed 
throughout  the  length  of  the  sleeping  camp. 

Some  sleeping  Indian  who  had  been  dream- 
ing of  war  heard  the  old  man's  battle-cry,  and 
soon  an  answering  Oh,  la-ay-lilla-ho  !  was  heard 
from  the  other  end  of  the  encampment.  As 
its  echoes  reached  the  old  man 'sears  it  seemed 
to  rouse  him  ;  his  eyes  lost  their  vacant  stare, 
but  his  weakness  again  coming  upon  him, 


THR  DEA  TH  OF  LO-TO-KAH.  xg, 

he  almost  fell.  I  supported  him,  and  as  he 
lay  down  again  he  said  : 

"  Again  was  my  mind  running  wild,  O  friend  ! 
Again  was  I  in  thoughts  a  young  man,  and 
again  was  I  making  ready  for  battle  with  the 
Comanches.  It  was  only  delirium,  but  ah  !  it 
was  sweet  to  be  in  imagination  a  strong  young 
man  again — to  be  at  the  head  of  my  steel- 
hearted  warriors,  and  to  be  galloping  over  the 
dry  mesas  to  try  our  strength  against  the 
strength  of  our  hated  foes  !  But  that  is  past ; 
I  am  now  but  an  old  man,  and  the  coldness 
of  death  is  fast  chilling  my  blood  and  steal- 
ing within  me  to  freeze  my  heart.  Death ! 
Death  !  Death  ! — the  thing  the  white  men  fear 
so  much  ;  the  thing  the  red  men  fear  so  little  ! 
But  it  has  come  to  me  none  too  late.  All  my 
life  I  have  tasted  to  the  full  of  the  joys  of 
living.  My  foes  have  fallen  before  me  as  the 
oak  trees  fall  before  the  mountain  storm  ;  my 
friends  have  loved  me,  and  have  given  me  joy 
as  the  flowers  give  joy  to  the  birds  of  sum- 
mer ;  and  my  wife — ah  !  she  was  to  me  as  a 
spring  of  sweet  water  down  until  the  time  of 
her  death." 

The  old,  dim  eyes  closed  again,  the  thin 
palms  held  my  hand  closer,  and  then  the  old 
man  raised  his  head  with  a  start,  and  said  : 


!  g4  THE  DEA  TH  OF  L  O-  TO-KA  H. 

"  Dead  ?  Dead?  Who  says  that  my  Zeetah 
is  dead  ?  If  she  is  dead  it  is  by  the  foul  work 
of  a  cowardly  coyote  who  is  my  enemy,  and  I 
will  seek  him  till  the  flesh  rots  from  my  bones, 
and  when  I  do  find  him  I  will  roast  him  over 
a  slow  fire,  I  will  prick  out  his  eyes  with  the 
needles  of  cactus,  I  will — Oh,  you  lie,  you  lie  ! 
You  are  a  race  of  liars  and  men  with  the  tongues 
of  snakes  ;  for  Zeetah  is  not  dead — she  can- 
not be  dead  !  "  Then  his  voice  became  low 
and  soft,  and  he  said  :  "  O  Zeetah,  neenah 
pagosaf  they  told  me  you  were  dead.  It  was 
a  dream,  sweet  wife  of  my  heart,  but  it  has 
sorely  troubled  your  Lo-To-Kah.  Hold  my 
hand,  sweet  wife,  that  I  may  know  you  are 
here  ! " 

Again  the  old  man  was  silent  for  a  little 
time,  and  when  he  spoke  again  he  was  rational. 
He  said  : 

"  Friend  of  mine,  again  has  my  mind  wan- 
dered like  a  vagrant  bird.  Again  have  I  been 
living  in  thought  the  old  days  of  my  young 
years — those  glad  old  days  that  have  been 
gone  from  me,  for  lo  !  these  many  moons. 
Again  was  I  a  young  man,  a  warrior  and  a 
hunter ;  and  again  was  Zeetah,  the  bride  of 
my  youth,  in  my  arms.  But  it  will  now  be 

1  Wife  of  mine. 


THE  DEA  TH  OF  L  0-  TO-KA  H.  j  g  c 

only  the  time  needed  for  a  few  breaths  when  I 
will  be  with  her  again.  For  more  than  thirty 
years  she  has  been  waiting  for  me  in  the  bright 
hunting-grounds  that  lie  beyond  the  mystery 
called  death ;  yet  I  think  that  even  in  that 
glad  place  she  has  not  been  happy,  because  I 
have  not  been  with  her.  As  I  lie  here  on  my 
couch  of  death,  the  scenes  of  my  life  come 
before  me  in  a  succession  of  pictures ;  all  the 
wars,  the  battles,  the  combats,  the  hunts,  the 
dances,  the  wanderings,  the  strange  peoples 
and  the  far  places  that  I  have  visited,  come 
again  before  my  eyes  in  memory ;  but  of 
them  all  the  brightest  and  best  are  the  memo- 
ries of  Zeetah — she  who  was  my  only  wife. 
Ah,  friend !  I  have  journeyed  to  the  great 
places  of  the  world ;  I  have  seen  the  kings 
before  whom  men  bow  the  knee  ;  I  have  seen 
the  wondrous  cities  of  the  white-skinned 
peoples  :  but  of  all  the  things  I  have  seen 
none  were  so  beautiful  to  me  as  the  bare 
plains  and  the  high  mountains  of  the  land 
where  I  loved  and  won  my  Zeetah.  I  have 
seen  vast  cities,  where  the  houses  were 
palaces;  where  the  wealth  of  a  nation  was 
garnered  in  a  single  room.  But  all  the  time  I 
was  gazing  and  wondering  at  the  greatness  of 
the  white  peoples,  my  heart  was  here  in  the 


j  g  5  THE  DEATH  OF  L  0-  TO-KA  H. 

canons,  and  in  my  mind  I  was  again  chasing 
the  wild  buffalo  and  deer  across  the  dry 
arroyos.  Ah,  to  be  young  again — to  be  young 
again !  Why,  there  was  a  time  when  my 
strength  was  like  the  strength  of  a  rod  of  iron  ; 
there  was  a  time  when  I  could  catch  one  wild 
horse  after  another  and  ride  them  till  in  turn 
they  died.  And  when  my  hand  was  turned  in 
war  against  my  enemies,  then  went  forth  the 
saying  that  many  graves  would  yawn  to  hold 
those  slain  by  Lo-To-Kah." 

The  old  man  ceased  talking.  Again  his 
weird,  wild  war-cry  was  heard  reverberating  in 
the  night,  and  we  who  were  watching  him  knew 
that  he  was  again  in  the  hold  of  the  delirium 
and  was  fighting  over  some  battle  of  his  far- 
away youth.  I  noticed  that  his  strength  was 
failing,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  he  would  not 
again  regain  the  use  of  his  reasoning  faculties  ; 
but  after  muttering  and  raving  for  a  time  he 
became  rational.  He  sat  up  on  his  couch  and 
told  me  of  a  fight  he  had  fought  when  he  was 
young,  telling  his  story  with  a  directness  and 
connection  that  would  not  have  been  looked 
for  from  a  dying  man.  I  give  the  story  here 
in  his  own  words ;  but  I  cannot  give  the  mag- 
nificent gestures,  nor  the  wonderful  expression 
of  his  matchless  eyes,  which  were  bright  and 


THE  DEA  TH  OF  LO-TO-KAH.  jg; 

sparkling  despite  the  dimness  of  old  age.     He 
said : 

"  One  time  after  Zeetah  had  been  my  wife 
for  two  summers  I  killed  buffalo,  tanned  the 
skin,  and  builded  my  wife  a  new  can-nee.  It 
was  the  finest  and  largest  can-nee  that  was 
owned  by  any  of  the  people  of  our  tribe,  and 
Zeetah  was  very  proud  of  it.  Within  it  we 
hung  the  scalps  and  trophies  I  had  won  in 
battles ;  we  adorned  the  sides  with  the  claws 
of  bears  I  had  killed,  and  I  thought  we  had 
all  the  things  needed  by  happy  people.  But 
one  day  Zeetah  said  to  me  that  she  had  heard 
a  tale  setting  forth  that  the  Modocs  who  dwelt 
in  the  lava-lands  of  the  far  North  made  bows 
that  were  as  wide  as  the  oars  of  boats,  and 
that  none  but  the  strongest  men  could  bend 
them.  She  said  she  wished  to  possess  one  of 
those  bows,  so  that  I  might  bend  it,  and  show 
the  other  men  of  our  tribe  that  I  was  the 
strongest  and  mightiest  of  them  all,  and  so  that 
she  might  have  it  to  hang  on  the  walls  of  our 
can-nee.  I  was  but  a  youth  then, — any  wan- 
dering fancy  possessed  my  mind  as  much  as 
great  thoughts  or  ambitions  did  in  my  later 
years, — and  I  told  Zeetah  I  would  journey  to 
the  land  of  the  Modocs  and  bring  her  the 
strongest  bow  they  had.  She  besought  me 


jgg  THE  DEA  TH  OF  LO-TO-KAH. 

not  to  go,  saying  she  had  spoken  only  in  jest ; 
but  the  drop  of  wandering  blood  that  was  in 
my  body  was  more  potent  than  her  pleadings, 
and  I  set  out  alone  for  the  land  of  the 
Modocs. 

"  I  passed  through  the  lands  of  many  tribes, 
meeting  some  in  friendship  and  fighting  any 
who  cast  gibes  upon  me,  and  at  last  I  came 
unhurt  to  the  land  of  the  Modocs.  The  Mo- 
docs  dwelt  in  a  wild  land — a  land  that  seemed 
fit  for  none  but  evil  spirits, — and  I  said  to  my- 
self that  I  would  tarry  there  but  a  short  time. 
I  asked  of  them  what  man  among  them  owned 
the  greatest  bow,  and  they  answered  me  only 
by  asking  questions  of  me  and  looking  upon 
me  in  suspicion.  I  learned  that  the  greatest 
bow  among  them  was  esteemed  to  be  a  thing 
of  magic,  and  was  greatly  prized  by  them. 
They  believed  I  wanted  to  work  evil  upon 
them  by  obtaining  it ;  but  I  had  promised  that 
bow  to  my  Zeetah,  and  I  vowed  that  I  would 
take  it,  or  that  I  would  never  leave  the  land 
of  the  Modocs  alive. 

"  After  I  had  parleyed  much  with  the  Mo- 
docs, striving  to  obtain  the  bow  by  fair  traffic, 
one  of  their  chiefs  bade  me  leave  their  country. 
I  was  no  thief ;  I  desired  not  their  horses  nor 
their  women,  and  the  order  was  an  insult  that 


THE  DEA  TH  OF  LO-TO-KAH.  jg 

I  would  not  brook.  By  way  of  answer  to  the 
order  of  the  chief  I  spat  upon  him,  and  we 
fought — I  and  the  chief  and  his  men.  We 
fought  for  an  hour  ;  and  then  the  tribe  of  the 
Modocs  lacked  one  of  its  chiefs,  and  two  of 
the  warriors  were  maimed.  One  of  the  men 
with  whom  I  had  fought  then  said  that  their 
great  bow  was  owned  by  a  man  who  was  at 
once  chief  and  priest,  and  that,  though  he 
fought  but  seldom,  he  was  greater  in  battle 
than  any  man  who  had  ever  lived.  Then  I 
told  the  man  to  bear  my  defiance  to  that  chief, 
and  to  tell  him  he  was  a  liar  and  a  coward 
and  an  eater  of  the  flesh  of  dogs,  and  that  I 
was  waiting  for  him  in  his  own  land  to  fight 
him.  The  man  bore  my  message  to  the  chief, 
and  the  chief  wondered  much  whom  I  might 
be,  who  came  to  his  land  from  so  far  to  fight 
him.  The  chief  came  to  meet  me,  but  he 
came  hiding  and  skulking  like  a  coward — not 
as  a  boasting  chief  should  go  forth  in  his  own 
land  to  fight  a  single  stranger.  When  he  came 
near  to  me  he  drew  the  string  of  his  great  bow, 
and  I  felt  an  arrow  pass  through  the  flesh  of 
my  arm.  Then  the  passion  of  war  seized  me. 
I  forgot  that  I  was  a  single  man  in  the  land  of  a 
tribe  of  enemies,  and  I  rushed  toward  the  tree 
from  behind  which  the  chief  had  shot.  My 


!  ()  0  THE  DEA  TH  OF  L  O-  TO-KA  H. 

rush  was  so  swift  that  I  reached  him  before 
he  could  shoot  another  arrow,  and  behind  him 
I  saw  ten  of  his  people  hiding  behind  rocks. 
With  the  swiftness  of  a  flash  of  lightning  I 
grasped  the  chief  by  the  throat  with  one  of  my 
hands ;  with  my  other  I  wrested  his  great  bow 
from  him  and  threw  it  to  the  ground,  and  then 
I  swung  him  over  my  shoulder  and  reached 
the  tall  tree  from  behind  which  he  had  shot. 
The  tree  grew  upon  the  bank  of  a  great  pre- 
cipice, and  when  I  reached  it,  I  whirled  the 
body  of  the  chief  thrice  around  my  head,  and 
I  threw  him  far  out  over  the  bank,  sounding 
the  great  war-cry  of  my  people  as  I  threw  him. 
He  fell  upon  the  rocks  at  the  bottom  of  the 
chasm :  a  shriek  came  from  his  coward  lips, 
and  then  his  voice  was  still  forever.  I  hurried 
then  to  where  the  men  were  standing  gaping 
in  the  wonder  of  fools.  Before  they  could 
stop  me  I  gained  the  bow  that  the  chief  had 
owned.  It  was  a  wondrous  bow — longer  by 
far  than  a  man  ;  as  thick  as  a  man's  foot,  as 
wide  as  the  wing  of  a  wild  goose,  and  its  string 
was  made  of  a  great  coil  of  sinew  that  was  as 
hard  and  strong  as  a  rope  of  steel.  I  felt  my 
spirit  leap  with  joy  as  I  took  up  the  bow,  and 
I  fitted  one  of  the  great  arrows  to  it  and  sent 
it  singing  through  the  heart  of  a  Modoc  fool 


THE  DBA  TH  OF  L O- TO-KA  ff.  191 

who  had  not  known  enough  to  shoot  me  when 
I  was  struggling  with  the  chief.  The  man  fell 
dead,  and  then  the  madness  of  war  grew  upon 
me.  In  the  sight  of  my  eyes  all  things  seemed 
red  as  blood,  and  I  forgot  danger,  I  forgot  all 
but  the  joy  of  killing,  and  I  rushed  upon  the 
remaining  men  as  a  mountain-lion  might  rush 
upon  a  flock  of  rabbits.  They  were  brave 
men,  though,  those  Modocs,  and  they  stood 
their  ground  and  fought  me  hand  to  hand. 
Soon  we  were  so  close  to  each  other  that  I 
could  not  use  my  bow,  and  then  we  all  fought 
with  only  our  war-clubs  as  weapons.  My  club 
was  heavy  with  flint,  and  I  swung  it  so  fast 
that  it  made  a  noise  like  a  chant  as  it  sped 
through  the  air.  A  mighty  swing,  and  a  Modoc 
fell  dead ;  another  swing, — swift  as  forked 
lightning, — and  then  another  man  was  ready 
for  the  scalping-knife  ;  and  then  a  giant  Modoc 
smote  me  with  his  club  and  broke  my  left  arm ; 
then  the  blood  of  my  body  turned  to  a 
white  heat,  and,  with  my  broken  arm  hanging 
limply  at  my  side,  I  rushed  upon  the  others 
and  one  by  one  they  fell  before  me ;  but  as 
they  were  falling  the  giant  rained  his  heavy 
blows  upon  me,  giving  me  scars  that  I  have 
carried  down  through  my  life  to  this  day.  In 
due  time  I  killed  or  wounded  all  but  the  man 


! g 2  THE  DEATH  OF  LO- TO-KA H. 

who  was  the  giant,  and  he  was  not  even  hurt. 
I  was  bleeding  from  a  dozen  wounds  :  one  of 
my  eyes  was  closed  from  a  blow  he  had  given 
me  ;  my  left  arm  felt  as  though  it  were  being 
pierced  by  knives,  and  the  tall  warrior  rushed 
upon  me,  thinking  to  finish  me.  We  both 
dropped  our  clubs  and  grasped  each  other's 
bodies,  I  having  only  one  arm  to  use.  The 
giant's  arms  closed  about  me — strong,  strong  : 
so  strong  that  I  thought  my  body  would  be 
divided  into  two  pieces ;  but  I  grasped  him 
with  my  one  good  arm,  and  I  tried  to  push  him 
from  me.  Then  his  hands  of  steel  found  their 
way  to  my  throat ;  things  began  to  turn  black 
before  my  eyes,  and  I  felt  that  the  sun  of  my 
life  was  almost  set.  I  thought  of  Zeetah  in  her 
can-nee,  waiting  my  return ;  I  thought  of  the 
men  of  my  tribe,  who  might  think  I  had  de- 
serted them  to  cast  in  my  lot  with  another 
people ;  I  thought  of  the  joys  of  life — of  the 
years  my  life  yet  lacked  to  fill  it  out  to  the 
number  allotted  to  men ;  and  the  thought  came 
to  me  that  death  was  very  bitter.  I  determined 
to  make  the  man  die  with  me,  and  it  occurred 
to  me  that  I  might  make  one  mighty  rush  and 
carry  him  with  me  over  the  edge  of  the  pre- 
cipice. I  braced  one  of  my  feet  against  a 
stone ;  I  threw  all  the  strength  of  my  body 


The  old   man   fell   forward." 


•  ••?  :•  • 


THE  DBA  TH  OF  LO-TO-KAH.  195 

into  one  mighty  effort,  and  I  rushed  toward 
the  cliff — the  man  giving  way  inch  by  inch 
before  the  strength  I  was  using.  When  he 
began  to  give  way,  hope  came  again  to  my 
heart,  and  I  believed  that  I  might  kill  him  and 
yet  not  lose  my  life.  I  grasped  him  about  the 
neck  and  choked  him,  and  he  loosed  his  hold 
on  my  throat  for  an  instant.  That  instant  was 
his  death ;  for  no  sooner  had  his  hand  come 
before  my  mouth  than  I  bit  it  in  my  teeth,  and 
while  he  recoiled  in  pain  I  threw  all  my  power 
against  him.  Before  he  knew  it,  his  body  was 
soaring  like  the  body  of  a  bird  down  toward 
the  bottom  of  the  almost  bottomless  chasm. 
And  the  great  bow  that  I  won  that  day  was 
ever  after  the  dearest  treasure  that  my  wife 
possessed.  But  these  are  things  of  the  long 
ago,  and  should  not  be  dwelt  upon  by  an  old 
man  who  is  face  to  face  with  death." 

Once  more  shouting  his  once  terrible  war 
cry,  the  old  man  fell  back  from  weakness.  He 
lay  for  a  long  time, — perhaps  an  hour, — with- 
out speaking,  and  it  seemed  that  all  his 
strength  was  gone.  In  time  he  asked  for 
water,  and  then  again  he  lay  silent  while  the 
hideous  old  medicine-men  motioned  their 
skinny  arms  over  his  body,  placed  their  cheeks 
to  his  naked  breast,  and  chanted  the  weird 


! n 6  THE  DEATH  OF  LO- TO-KA H. 

death-song  that  was  believed  to  clear  the  way 
for  the  dying  man's  soul  to  travel  on  its  journey 
to  the  next  world. 

Just  as  the  first  thin  ray  of  the  morning  sun- 
light came  stealing  over  the  eastern  mesas,  the 
old  man  sprang  to  his  feet,  turned  his  face  up- 
ward, held  out  his  arms,  and  said : 

"  O  Zeetah,  neenah  pagosa  at  last,  at  last ! 
I  am  coming,  Zeetah,  after  long  years  !  I  am 
coming,  and  never  will  I  depart  from  your  side 
again — never,  in  the  long  forever.  O  Zeetah, 
the  time  has  been  long — so  long,  so  long !  I 
have  lived  a  long  life  in  a  world  full  of  trouble, 
and  few  besides  you  have  had  a  place  in  my 
heart.  None  but  you  have  been  in  my  memory 
by  night  and  by  day,  and  none  but  you  could 
make  the  place  of  endless  joy  a  happy  place  to 
me.  Neenah  pagosa,  I  come  at  last !  " 

The  old  man  fell  forward  on  his  face,  his 
arms  still  outstretched  before  him.  We 
thought  at  first  he  had  fallen  from  weakness  ; 
but  when  we  raised  him  and  looked  into  his 
face,  we  saw  that  he  was  dead.  And  in  all  the 
weird,  strange  lands  where  the  Indians  dwell, 
never  again  will  be  known  another  such  man 
as  was  old  Lo-To-Kah  of  the  oaken  heart. 


THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH. 


ABOUT  sixteen  miles  north  of  the  Arkansas 
River,  in  Otero  County,  Colorado,  there  is  a 
place  called  Antelope  Springs.  It  is  not  a 
town,  or  a  farm,  or  a  ranch  ;  it  is  simply  a  place. 
It  is  ten  miles  or  more  from  civilization,  and  is 
the  centre  of  a  vast  treeless,  unfenced  plain 
that  is  used  only  for  range  for  cattle.  Here 
the  plains  break  away  from  a  mesa-wall,  and 
out  of  the  wall  or  slope  there  comes  forth  the 
water  of  a  group  of  springs.  This  is  the  only 
water  for  miles,  and  the  spot  has  long  been 
known  to  Indians  and  hunters,  as  well  as  to 
the  antelope,  many  of  which  still  range  in  the 
region.  It  is  a  desolate  place  to  those  who 


202  THE   VISION  OF  THE  WITCH. 

are  lonely  when  out  of  sight  of  the  towers  and 
crowds  of  cities ;  but  it  is  beautiful  in  the  way 
that  the  sea  or  the  forests  are  beautiful.  The 
plains  stretch  away  in  undulating  vastness  in 
every  direction,  and  nothing  can  be  seen  ex- 
cept the  cattle  and  the  wild  animals  that  come 
to  the  springs  to  water.  And  at  that  place 
there  occurred  a  thing  so  strange  that  the 
people  who  hear  of  it  will  say  it  is  not  true. 

A  traveller  on  horseback  came  one  evening 
at  sunset  to  the  Antelope  Springs.  He  was 
tired,  hungry,  and  thirsty  ;  but  he  carried  food 
with  him,  the  springs  afforded  water,  and  he 
decided  to  spend  the  night  there.  There  is 
an  old,  tumble-down  adobe  corral  at  the 
springs  that  was  once  used  by  sheep-herders. 
The  traveller  picketed  his  horse  out  to  eat  the 
gramma-grass  that  grows  quite  abundantly 
there,  and  made  a  rude  camp  in  the  old  ruin. 
He  ate  of  the  frugal  lunch  he  carried  with  him, 
and  then,  with  his  saddle  for  a  pillow  and  his 
overcoat  for  a  covering,  he  lay  down  and 
slept. 

The  traveller  did  not  know  how  long  he 
had  slept,  but  when  he  awoke  it  must  have 
been  far  in  the  night.  He  looked  out  over 
the  plains  and  saw  the  late  moon  rising  over 
the  earth,  half  obscured  by  floating  clouds. 


THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH.  203 

He  heard  the  hoot  of  an  owl ;  some  creeping 
thing  moved  near  him  ;  and  away  over  the 
empty  distance  he  heard  the  weird,  ghostly 
cry  of  the  ravening  coyotes  as  they  wandered 
forth  in  search  of  prey.  He  shivered  and  was 
about  to  lie  down  again,  when  he  chanced  to 
glance  to  the  eastward,  and  there,  just  where 
the  old  sheep-dip  tank  now  lies,  he  saw  a  tent 
and  a  camp-fire,  and  some  horses  grazing  near 
his  own. 

The  traveller  arose  and  went  to  the  tent, 
for  in  that  uninhabited  place  he  felt  that 
whoever  might  be  the  owners  of  the  camp, 
would  be  glad  to  see  him.  Sitting  in  front  of 
the  tent  was  a  black  man,  an  African,  of 
gigantic  size.  His  lips  were  compressed,  his 
face  was  free  from  hair,  and  his  eyes  shone 
in  the  night  like  coals  of  living  fire.  He 
stared  at  the  traveller,  but  did  not  speak  or 
move.  The  traveller  addressed  him,  and  the 
black  man  frowned,  but  did  not  answer.  The 
traveller  was  turning  to  leave  his  churlish 
neighbor,  when  the  flap  of  the  tent  was  opened 
and  a  beautiful  woman  invited  him  to  enter. 
The  negro  arose  and  stood  to  one  side,  the 
traveller  entered  the  tent;  and  when  he  was 
within  he  believed  that  he  was  still  asleep  and 
dreaming,  so  different  were  his  surroundings 


204  THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH. 

from  what  he  would  expect  to  see  in  that 
isolated  and  desolate  solitude.  The  tent 
was  made  of  fine  silk,  the  ground  was 
covered  with  rugs  of  the  finest  patterns,  and 
silken  and  golden  draperies  were  all  around. 
Standing  at  one  side  of  the  tent  was  a 
woman,  more  beautiful  than  any  woman  the 
stranger  had  ever  seen  before — which  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at,  for  she  was  the  most  beau- 
tiful woman  in  the  world.  Her  eyes  were 
blue  and  as  bright  as  stars ;  her  features 
were  finely  molded ;  her  dress  was  a  robe  of 
clinging  silk,  which  half  revealed  and  half  hid 
the  fair  proportions  of  the  wearer ;  and  the 
undulations  of  her  bosom  caused  her  robe  to 
rise  and  fall  with  a  gentle  motion.  Diamonds 
of  rare  brilliance  were  on  her  fingers,  a 
diamond  bracelet  encircled  her  wrist,  and 
her  soft  hair  was  held  back  by  a  circlet  of  gold. 
The  traveller  gazed  upon  her  with  such  a  look 
as  might  have  been  on  the  face  of  a  slain 
Saracen  when  first  he  saw  one  of  the  immortal 
houris  of  Paradise. 

"  Traveller,  you  are  welcome,"  said  the 
woman,  in  a  voice  so  sweet  that  every  tone  of 
it  is  yet  remembered  by  the  traveller.  "  You 
are  welcome,  and  I  am  glad  you  are  here,  for 
I  am  lonely.  When  we  came  to  this  place 


THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH.  205 

and  saw  you  asleep  within  the  old  adobe  walls, 
my  attendant  desired  to  hasten  away ;  but  I 
would  not  go,  for  something  seemed  to  tell  me 
I  must  camp  here.  Is  it  not  strange  how  we 
will  be  guided  by  impressions  ? " 

The  woman  smiled  into  the  face  of  the  man, 
and  her  smile  was  so  brilliant  and  she  was 
so  entrancingly  beautiful,  that  he  forgot  to 
answer,  but  stood  gaping  at  her  as  a  clown 
might  gaze  at  an  angel. 

"  Will  you  not  have  wine  ? "  asked  the 
woman. 

The  traveller  acquiesced,  and  the  woman 
called  her  attendant,  who  had  been  sitting 
silently  outside.  The  negro  went  to  a  leathern 
bag,  and  procured  a  bottle  of  wine.  It  was 
such  wine  as  he  had  never  drunk  before ;  it 
seemed  to  go  into  his  veins  and  take  many 
years  from  his  age,  and  make  him  young. 

"  Is  not  the  wine  splendid  ? "  said  the  woman. 
"  It  was  made  in  Spain  three  hundred  years 
ago,  and  it  has  no  peer  in  the  world." 

Three  hundred  years  ago  !  Made  in  Spain  ! 
And  these  strange  announcements  made  by  a 
woman  as  beautiful  as  a  dream — a  woman  who 
had  a  black  king  for  a  slave,  and  who  dwelt  in 
a  silken  tent  and  wore  jewels  beyond  price  ! 
The  traveller  believed  that  he  was  asleep. 


206  THE  VISION  OP  THE  WITCH. 

But  if  he  were  asleep  indeed,  he  was  having  a 
beautiful  dream,  and  did  not  desire  to  awaken. 

Silken  cushions  were  all  about  the  tent,  and 
after  a  time  the  traveller  sat  down.  The 
woman  talked  to  him  for  a  time  of  the  country 
they  were  in,  of  books,  of  pictures  and  of 
cities ;  and  after  they  had  begun  to  get  well 
enough  acquainted  for  the  traveller  to  feel  at 
ease,  the  woman  asked  him  if  he  had  lived 
long  in  the  West. 

"  Many  years,"  replied  the  traveller. 

"  Do  you  ever  go  among  the  Indians  ?  " 
asked  the  woman. 

«  Yes." 

"  Did  you  ever  meet  an  Indian  named  Lo- 
To-Kah — an  old  man  who  was  once  a  chief, 
and  who  is  now  dead  ? " 

"Yes,  I  knew  him  well ;  he  was  my  friend," 
replied  the  traveller. 

"  He  was  your  friend,  and  he  is  now  dead," 
absently  said  the  woman. 

Then  she  roused  herself  and  asked  the 
traveller  many  questions  of  the  old  chief.  The 
traveller  answered  as  well  as  he  could,  but  it 
was  hard  to  keep  his  mind  upon  the  subject ; 
for  his  greedy  eyes  were  always  roving  from 
the  fair  face  to  the  perfect  form  of  the  woman 
who  sat  before  him. 


THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH.  2oy 

The  night  wore  on,  and  in  time  the  traveller 
arose  and  said  he  must  go  to  his  saddle  and 
sleep. 

"  Remain  here,"  said  the  woman.  "  My  at- 
tendant will  not  sleep,  but  will  guard  me  and 
the  tent.  It  is  not  good  for  a  man  to  sleep 
out  of  doors  in  the  night.  Lie  down  on  the 
cushions  and  sleep  here." 

The  man  lay  down  upon  the  cushions,  and 
the  woman  sat  staring  at  the  wall  of  the  tent, 
seeming  to  forget  her  guest  altogether.  A 
man  who  is  tired  cannot  remain  awake  always, 
even  to  stare  at  a  beautiful  woman,  and  in  time 
the  traveller  fell  asleep.  He  was  awakened 
after  a  time,  and  rose  to  a  sitting  posture  and 
looked  about  him.  He  saw  the  strange 
woman  sitting  with  staring  eyes  gazing  into 
vacancy,  and  the  tall  negro  was  in  the  tent 
with  a  look  of  terror  on  his  face. 

"  What  is  it  ? "  asked  the  traveller,  speaking 
in  a  whisper. 

"  I  cannot  tell,"  answered  the  negro,  also  in 
a  whisper.  "  I  cannot  tell.  My  mistress,  the 
Queen,  often  prays  for  death,  and  I  feel  that 
at  last  it  may  be  coming  to  her.  She  was 
never  thus  before." 

The  talking  did  not  disturb  the  woman,  who 


208  THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH. 

sat  rigid  as  a  stone  gazing  with  wide,  unseeing 
eyes  into  nothingness. 

"  Who  is  your  mistress  ? "  whispered  the 
traveller. 

"  Raymeya,  Queen  of "  began  the  negro. 

Then  he  paused ;  his  big  eyes  flashed  upon 
the  traveller,  and  he  said :  "  Fool !  what 
concern  of  yours  is  it  who  she  is  ?  Is  it  not 
enough  that  a  clod  like  you  can  gaze  upon 
her  ?  Now  speak  to  me  no  more  !  " 

A  gust  of  cold  air  seemed  to  enter  the  tent, 
a  white  mist  seemed  for  a  moment  to  envelop 
all  things ;  and  when  it  had  faded  a  bearded 
man  stood  before  Raymeya,  and  the  negro 
was  cowering  on  the  ground,  his  eyes  rolling 
in  terror.  The  bearded  man  seemed  half 
shadowy  and  unreal,  and  the  traveller  be- 
lieved it  was  a  ghost.  The  woman  gazed  at  it 
and  screamed ;  but  she  did  not  cower,  and  she 
made  no  attempt  to  go  away.  She  was  silent 
for  a  full  minute  ;  then  she  spoke  one  word  : 

"  Ransoval !  " 

"  Aye,  Ransoval !  "  said  the  apparition,  "  I 
am  Ransoval,  whom  you  foully  slew  so  long 
ago  in  the  accursed  land  of  Cundinamarca. 
How  long  ago  that  was  I  know  not ;  but  I 
know  that  since  then  your  memory  has  not 
been  in  my  brain,  and  that  I  have  not  even 


THE   VISION  OF  THE  WITCH.  209 

hated  you,  and  do  not  hate  you,  for  my  mur- 
der. I  seem  like  a  man  who  has  just  awakened 
from  a  long  sleep,  my  mind  is  not  fully 
clear.  What  do  you  here  ?  Why  are  you  not 
dead?" 

"  I  am  not  dead,  O  Ransoval,  because  of 
the  curse  that  was  placed  upon  me  for  my  sin  in 
taking  your  life.  Long  years — long  and  weary 
years — I  have  lived  upon  the  earth  since  you 
ceased  to  live.  Great  wealth  has  been  given 
me  ;  great  knowledge  is  mine  ;  I  am  as  fair  as 
any  woman  who  dwells  in  all  the  world  ;  I  am 
as  young  as  I  was  when  first  I  became  your 
bride,  but  my  heart  is  ashes,  and  I  am  the 
most  unhappy  of  all  the  creatures  that  were 
created.  Will  you  not  forgive  me  for  so  foully 
murdering  you? " 

The  thing  seemed  to  start,  and  the  eyes 
looked  down  at  the  woman.  "  Forgive  you  !  " 
he  said.  "  Why,  you  are  my  wife — my  young 
lover,  my  bride  !  You  are  to  me  the  sunlight 
of  life,  the  sweet  flower  of  existence !  For- 
give !  What  is  there  to  forgive  ? " 

The  woman  was  grovelling  upon  the  ground, 
moaning  and  crying.  "  Why,"  she  said,  "  it 
was  a  sin  to  kill  you.  I  cut  you  off  in  the  bloom 
of  youth,  in  the  flower  of  your  young  man- 
hood, and  sent  you,  all  unprepared,  into  that 


210  THE   VISION  OF  THE  WITCH. 

country  of  judgment  where  none  should  go 
but  those  whose  work  upon  earth  is  done." 

"  Yes  ;  I  know,"  said  the  man,  cr  thing,  or 
spirit,  absently.  "  I  know  ;  I  was  thinking  of 
other  things.  I  had  forgotten  for  an  instant 
that  you  killed  me." 

"And  had  you  forgotten  that  you  loved 
me  ?  "  asked  the  woman,  rising  to  her  knees. 
"  Had  you  forgotten  that  once  I  was  all  the 
world  to  you ;  that  you  swore  you  would  sur- 
render your  hope  of  heaven  for  me  ? " 

"  No,  I  had  not  forgotten,"  said  the  shade. 

The  spirit  stood  with  bowed  head  for  a 
little  time,  and  then  it  spoke  again,  saying  : 

"  Raymeya,  but  for  the  blow  you  dealt 
me,  the  history  of  the  world  might  have  been 
changed.  The  expedition  I  led  to  South 
America  was  a  contraband  expedition,  sailing 
without  authority  of  any  kind.  I  stole  away 
from  Spain  in  the  night,  and  no  man  ever  knew 
what  befell  me  and  the  men  I  led.  From  a 
sailor  who  had  been  with  Columbus  I  learned 
of  the  Gilded  Chief,  and  I  resolved  to  find 
him — to  learn  of  the  vastness  of  his  wealth, 
and  to  then  go  the  monarchs  and  disclose  my 
discovery.  Because  of  my  death  I  could  not 
make  my  great  discovery  known ;  and  in  after 
years,  when  the  power  of  Spain  was  waning 


THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH.  2\\ 

because  of  the  poverty  of  the  nation,  the  gold 
of  the  Gilded  Chief  would  have  enabled  the 
Spanish  crown  to  almost  conquer  the  world. 
No  man  after  me  sought  the  Gilded  One  until 
many  years  had  gone  into  the  past,  and  when 
they  sought  they  found  him  not ;  for  he  had 
gone  from  his  country  ;  his  wealth  was  gone 
with  him,  and  his  name  and  fame  became  a 
mocking  and  a  byword.  I  know  not  how  I 
know  these  things,  but  I  know  them." 

"  Is  it  the  wealth  of  him  who  was  called  the 
Gilded  One  that  you  have  in  our  valley  ?  " 
tremulously  asked  the  cowering  negro,  crawl- 
ing nearer  to  his  mistress. 

The  woman  paid  no  heed  to  the  black  man, 
but  sat  staring  at  the  wraith  that  was  before 
her  ;  and  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  the  shade 
was  gone,  and  the  room  contained  no  person 
save  the  beautiful  woman,  the  negro  and  the 
astonished  traveller. 

The  woman  sat  like  one  bewitched,  her 
great  starry  eyes  distended  and  gazing  into 
vacancy ;  and  no  one  of  the  little  company 
spoke  a  word.  Soon  a  mist  seemed  to  enter 
the  room  again  ;  the  air  for  an  instant  was 
freezing  cold,  and  then  the  mist  changed  and 
a  tall,  bronze-colored  man  stood  in  the  tent. 
He  was  as  straight  as  an  arrow,  his  brow  was 


212  THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH. 

high,  his  firm  lips  were  compressed,  and  his 
eyes  seemed  to  look  through  the  people  who 
were  before  him.  He  folded  his  arms  with  an 
imperious  gesture  and  gazed  at  the  woman. 

"  Guatamozin  !  "  said  the  woman,  speaking 
almost  in  a  whisper. 

"  I  am  Guatamozin,"  said  the  spirit,  speak- 
ing in  a  voice  that  rang  out  in  the  night.  "  I 
am  Guatamozin — once  the  Emperor  of  Ten- 
ochtitlan  ;  once  your  friend  ;  once  the  man 
whose  love  you  sought  and  never  gained. 
Why  are  you  here  in  your  living  person  ? 
Why  are  you  not  dead  ? " 

"  It  is  a  sad  tale,"  said  the  woman  ;  "  a  sad 
tale,  which  I  prefer  not  to  tell  you.  Why  are 
you  here  ?  What  do  you  seek  from  me  ?  " 

"  Why  I  am  here  I  know  not,"  said  the  tall 
warrior.  "  I  seek  nothing  from  you.  I  am 
dead,  and  dead  have  been  for  almost  un- 
numbered years ;  yet  I  seem  to  know  but 
little  of  what  existence  I  have  held  since  I  left 
the  earth.  To  me  the  mystery  of  life  has  not 
been  explained,  and  I  cannot  fathom  the 
mystery  of  death.  Mystery  !  Mystery !  Why, 
all  is  mystery !  My  birth  was  mysterious,  my 
life  was  mysterious  even  to  me,  and  death  is 
even  more  mysterious." 

"  Tell  me  of  yourself,"  said  the  woman,  her 


THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH.  2  j  , 

curiosity  seeming  to  master  her  other  emo- 
tions. 

"  You  remain  as  I  knew  you,  a  seeker  after 
knowledge,"  said  Guatamozin,  smiling.  "  Well, 
I  cannot  tell  you  of  myself,  for  I  know  but 
little  of  myself.  The  histories  that  have  been 
written  by  the  descendants  of  the  white-skin- 
ned conquerors  tell  that  I  was  the  nephew  of 
Montezuma,  the  Emperor  ;  but  I  was  not  born 
a  babe  to  any  woman  of  his  kin.  I  was  a  man 
when  I  came  to  earth,  and  in  the  mountain 
fastnesses  I  found  a  woman  and  by  instinct 
was  led  to  call  her  mother.  She  was  of  the 
blood  of  the  Montezumas,  but  she  had  lived 
in  exile  for  many  years.  Yet  when  she  re- 
turned to  the  royal  city  and  proclaimed  that  I 
was  her  son,  she  was  believed,  and  the  people 
called  me  a  man  of  royal  blood.  The  white 
men  learned  but  little  of  me ;  I  shot  the  first 
arrow  at  Montezuma  the  fool,  and  from  that 
time  the  people  knew  me.  It  was  then  that 
you  came  to  me,  a  white  witch  with  great 
wisdom,  and  told  me  how  to  conduct  battles. 
Ah,  you  and  I  fought  battles  that  were  fit  to 
have  been  the  battles  fought  by  gods  !  If  I 
could  have  loved  you  as  you  desired, — if  I 
could  have  had  love  to  press  me  forward  to 
victory, — I  would  have  driven  the  Spanish 


214  THE   VISION  OF  THE  WITCH. 

devils  into  the  earth  and  purged  the  land  of 
Mexico  from  their  presence  forever.  But  I 
fought  as  fights  a  man  who  had  but  little  to 
win,  and  in  time  I  was  beaten.  I  was  a  king ; 
a  queen  should  have  been  born  for  me,  but 
there  was  none  that  I  loved.  And  because  I 
lacked  a  queen  and  love  I  was  beaten." 

The  woman  became  visibly  excited  as  the 
spirit  talked,  and  when  he  stopped  she  arose 
and  stood  before  him. 

"  O  Guatamozin,"  said  she,  "  tell  me  of 
the  place  where  now  you  have  your  being. 
Are  you  still  a  king  and  a  ruler  of  men  ? 
Does  any  woman  now  have  your  love  ? " 

"  I  am  like  one  wakened  from  a  long  sleep," 
said  the  spirit,  "  and  I  can  tell  you  nothing. 
Some  things  are  in  my  brain,  but  they  seem 
like  the  shadows  of  dreams,  and  I  cannot  com- 
prehend them." 

The  woman  tore  open  the  part  of  her  robe 
that  was  around  her  throat,  her  white  neck 
gleamed  like  fine  ivory  in  the  dim  light  of  the 
tent,  her  bosom  heaved,  and  her  excitement 
was  so  great  that  scarcely  could  she  speak. 
The  dawning  of  a  great  truth  was  in  her 
mind ;  but  the  two  men,  whose  understanding 
was  not  so  great,  looked  on  in  stupid  wonder. 

"  King,"  said  the  woman,  "  tell  me  if,  in  the 


THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH.  215 

world  where  you  now  abide,  you  know  aught 
of  a  man  named  Lo-To-Kah  ? — an  Indian  like 
yourself." 

"  Lo-To-Kah !  "  said  the  king,  in  a  musing 
way.  "  Lo-To-Kah !  Why,  it  seems  to  me 
the  name  is  as  familiar  as  my  own.  Yet  I 
cannot  remember." 

He  raised  his  hand  to  his  brow  and  stood 
in  a  thoughtful  attitude  for  a  little  time,  seem- 
ing like  one  who  strove  to  remember  a  familiar 
thing  that  had  slipped  from  his  mind.  Then 
in  an  instant, — in  a  shorter  period  of  time 
than  can  be  comprehended  by  a  finite  mind, — 
he  vanished  into  thin  air  and  was  utterly  gone. 
The  woman,  who  seemed  used  to  strange 
things,  seemed  scarcely  able  to  comprehend 
the  sudden  disappearance,  but  sat  gazing  at 
the  empty  place  where  he  had  been.  The 
traveller  sat  still,  saying  no  word ;  and  the 
eyes  of  the  negro  rolled  in  a  paroxysm  of  ex- 
cited fear. 

The  three  persons  in  the  tent  sat  in  atti- 
tudes of  expectancy.  No  one  of  them  was 
conscious  that  he  expected  anything,  yet  each 
believed  the  white  mist  and  the  deadly  chill 
would  come  again.  And  it  was  not  long  until 
they  came.  When  the  mist  faded  the  trav- 
eller sprang  to  his  feet  in  astonishment,  for  be- 


2I6  THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH- 

fore  the  woman  stood  a  warrior  and  a  chief 
whose  greatness  has  been  heralded  to  the 
uttermost  ends  of  the  earth  ;  a  man  with  white 
skin  who  was  mightier  than  armies  with  ban- 
ners ;  a  man  before  whom  kings  fell  as  falls 
the  trees  before  a  mountain  storm  :  one  so 
well  known  that  his  likeness  is  yet  familiar  in 
almost  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  name  of 
this  man  was  not  spoken,  and  if  the  traveller 
who  saw  him,  or  the  writer  who  relates  this 
tale,  should  name  him,  it  would  be  said 
that  it  was  not  true  that  he  came  to  earth 
again  and  appeared  in  a  tent  on  the  desert 
plains. 

The  man,  or  spirit  of  a  man,  gazed  upon 
the  woman  for  a  time,  his  imperious  eyes  seem- 
ing to  look  into  her  very  soul.  She  rose  and 
took  a  step  toward  him,  seeming  like  a  bird 
that  is  charmed  by  a  serpent.  Then  the  man 
spoke.  He  said : 

"  Raymeya,  why  is  it  that  I  could  not  love 
you  when  I  was  a  man  upon  the  earth  ?  Why 
is  it  that  I  cannot  love  you  now  ?  You  did 
more  for  me  than  all  the  kings  and  councillors 
and  generals  I  ever  knew.  You  came  to  me 
always  in  secret ;  yet  you  put  the  sceptre  of 
power  into  my  hand,  and  you  enabled  me  to 
win  the  crowns  of  rulers.  Why  was  it  that  I 
loved  you  not  ?  " 


Lo-To-Kah,   in    barbaric  splendor,   stood    in   the   room.' 


THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH.  219 

The  woman  did  not  answer,  and  after  a 
little  time  the  man  went  on  speaking  : 

"  I  possessed  all  the  ambitions  that  are 
known  to  warriors  and  kings.  I  possessed  all 
the  ambitions  but  one  that  are  known  to  men, 
but  that  I  lacked.  You,  who  more  than  aught 
else  made  me,  offered  me  your  love  on  your 
bended  knees,  and  I  scorned  you.  Could  I 
have  loved  you,  the  world  and  all  its  fulness 
would  have  been  mine  and  thine  :  nations  of 
barbarians  as  well  as  civilized  nations  would 
have  bent  the  knee  to  us.  I  lacked  nothing 
but  a  lover." 

The  gloomy  eyes  of  the  wraith  were  turned 
in  meditation  upon  the  ground,  and  just  as 
had  happened  before,  the  figure  vanished  into 
thin  air. 

The  woman  trembled,  tears  came  to  her 
eyes,  and  she  whispered,  as  though  speaking 
to  herself : 

"  Now  must  come  Lo-To-Kah  !  He  was  the 
last  of  all  the  men  I  loved — the  last,  the 
greatest,  the  best,  and  the  most  dearly  loved. 
If  he  will  come  to  me,  and  will  say  one  word 
of  love,  the  curse  that  crushes  me  to  the  earth 
will  be  easier  to  bear." 

No  sooner  had  she  ceased  speaking  than  the 
mist  and  the  chill  were  in  the  tent  again  ; 


220  THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH. 

and,  when  the  mist  vanished,  Lo-To-Kah  the 
Indian,  dressed  in  all  the  barbaric  splendor  of 
his  people,  stood  in  the  room. 

"  O  Lo-To-Kah,  loved  one  !  Speak !  Tell 
me  you  have  come  to  say  the  thing  you  never 
would  say  in  life  !  "  cried  the  woman,  falling 
upon  her  knees,  and  holding  her  hands  in  sup- 
plication to  the  spirit. 

The  spirit  was  like  a  young  man,  although 
Lo-To-Kah  had  been  old  and  bent  at  the  time 
he  died.  He  gazed  at  the  kneeling  woman, 
and  said : 

"  Raymeya,  you  remain,  as  I  knew  you,  the 
fairest  woman  who  ever  dwelt  upon  the  earth. 
You  are  fairer  than  the  women  strong  young 
men  see  in  dreams  ;  you  are  fairer  than  the 
women  who  dwell  in  the  land  that  lies  beyond 
the  gates  of  death  :  but  I  love  you  not.  You 
were  my  friend  when  I  was  upon  earth ;  you 
are  now  my  friend — and  that  is  all." 

A  look  came  into  the  eyes  of  the  woman 
that  seemed  to  tell  of  all  the  sadness  ever 
known  to  women.  She  gazed  beseechingly 
and  hopelessly  into  the  eyes  of  the  tall  Indian  ; 
and  then,  with  a  sigh  that  seemed  to  rend  her 
bosom,  she  sank  upon  the  ground.  Soon  she 
raised  her  head  again  and  said  : 

"  O  Lo-To-Kah,  it  is  with  me  now  as  it  ever 


THE  VISION  OF  THE  IV ITCH.  22I 

was.  All  wealth,  all  power,  and  all  wisdom 
that  I  seek  are  given  to  me ;  but  love  is  not 
for  me.  Through  all  the  years  of  your  life, — 
when  you  were  a  strong  young  man,  as  you 
seem  now;  when  you  were  an  old  man, 
wrinkled  and  with  one  foot  over  the  brink  of 
the  grave, — I  loved  you.  I  loved  you,  but  you 
loved  me  not.  I  have  loved  men  before — 
loved  them  before  you  were  born ;  but  never 
loved  I  a  man,  never  loved  a  woman  a  man, 
as  I  have  loved  you.  But  as  I  cannot  have 
your  love,  teach  me  of  the  knowledge  you 
know.  Tell  me  of  that  land  that  lies  beyond 
the  grave,  and  of  the  wisdom  you  have  gained 
there ;  tell  me  of  the  secrets  of  birth  and  death 
— of  the  life  that  lies  after  death,  and  of  the 
life  that  was  before  birth." 

The  Indian  started.  "  Woman,"  said  he, 
"  speak  you  of  a  life  before  birth  ?  Of  what 
are  you  thinking  ?  " 

"  Tell  me  of  that  life,"  said  the  woman. 

"  I  know  not  of  any  life  before  birth,"  said 
the  Indian.  He  seemed  to  be  troubled  as  he 
spoke,  and  his  gaze  wandered  from  the 
woman. 

"  Tell  me  !  "  reiterated  the  woman. 

The  Indian  gave  a  great  start.  He  pressed 
his  hand  to  his  eyes  as  a  man  might  do  who 


222  THE  VISION  OP  THE  WITCH. 

had  received  a  blow ;  and  then,  seeming  the 
while  to  peer  away  into  nothingness,  he  said  : 

"O  Raymeya,  witch  of  all  human  knowl- 
edge, what  is  this  spell  you  have  caused  to 
be  cast  over  me  ?  I  know  that  I  have  died.  I 
have  remembrance  of  the  things  that  have 
befallen  me  since  my  body  was  placed  in  the 
ground  to  return  to  the  earth  from  which  it 
came ;  but  until  now  I  had  no  greater  knowl- 
edge. But  now, — now, — the  past  seems  to  roll 
open  to  my  gaze  as  the  leaves  of  a  scroll  open 
to  the  gaze  of  a  student.  I  see  the  forgotten 
years  and  centuries  as  a  man  might  see  who 
looks  down  a  mighty  corridor  and  through 
mighty  doors.  Ah  !  The  first  door  opens, 
and  I  see — I  see, — O  witch  !  this  cannot  be 
true !  You  are  casting  a  spell  upon  me ! 
This  thing  cannot,  must  not,  be  true  !  " 

Beads  of  perspiration  stood  out  on  the  white 
skin  of  the  woman.  She  gazed  at  the  spirit 
Indian  as  though  she  were  gazing  into  the 
very  womb  of  all  Infinity,  and  her  breath  came 
in  gasps  like  unto  the  gasps  of  one  who  is 
dying.  The  negro  and  the  traveller  were  rigid 
and  mute  with  fear  and  wonder ;  and  the 
wraith,  like  a  living,  breathing  man,  stood  in 
the  centre  of  the  tent,  gazing  away  into 
vacancy  with  distended  eyes. 


THE   VISION  OF  THE  WITCH.  22  3 

"  What  of  the  gate  you  see  ? "  asked  the 
woman,  speaking  in  so  low  a  whisper  that  her 
voice  was  barely  audible. 

"  I  see  a  man,"  said  the  Indian — "  a  man 
whose  name  struck  terror  to  the  hearts  of 
millions  ;  a  man  who  was  so  great  that  scarce 
could  the  earth  contain  the  ambitions  of  his 
limitless  mind.  He  was  a  warrior,  a  states- 
man, an  emperor.  And  with  him  I  see  you. 
You  are  kneeling  at  his  side,  pointing  out  the 
way  to  even  greater  fame,  and  asking  him  to 
give  to  you  his  love.  Raymeya,  that  man 
was — "  here  he  spoke  a  name,  "  and, — why, 
wonder  of  all  wonders !  that  man  was  also  I ! 
I,  in  another  form,  with  another  color,  but  it 
was  I." 

The  truth  that  had  been  made  known  to 
Lo-To-Kah  was  so  great, — so  stupendously 
and  unreasonably  great, — that  he  stood  gaping 
like  the  veriest  fool.  The  woman  rose  to  her 
full  height ;  her  loose  robe  slipped  from  her 
bust,  causing  her  to  seem  like  a  living  statue 
of  the  finest  marble ;  but  she  was  more  self- 
possessed  than  the  wraith,  and  she  said  : 

"  Look  farther !  Never,  in  unnumbered 
centuries,  may  so  much  of  the  pure  truth  of 
existence  be  made  known  to  you.  Miss  not 
this  opportunity.  Look  once  again  !  " 


224  THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH. 

Then  the  Indian  said  :  "  I  see  farther  yet 
down  the  avenue  of  the  dead  centuries,  and  I 
see  a  land  of  red-skinned  men — men  who  are 
half  wild  and  half  as  wise  as  any  men  who 
have  lived.  I  see  a  vast  concourse  of  people, 
who  seem  in  great  trouble  :  their  homes,  their 
kingdom,  their  religion,  their  very  belief  in  all 
things,  are  attacked  and  are  being  taken  from 
them  ;  and  I  see  a  young  man  with  a  stern 
brow  and  gloomy  eyes,  who  goes  among  them, 
and  as  he  walks  among  them  they  fall  down 
and  kiss  the  hem  of  his  robe.  The  man  is  a 
warrior  and  a  king,  and  his  name, — I  seem  to 
hear  the  multitude  shouting  it, — his  name  is 
Guatamozin !  And — oh,  again  the  infinite 
wonder !  Guatamozin  I  am  !  I  it  was  who 
was  Guatamozin  the  warrior.  And  by  my  side 
— as  I  lived  then, — I  see  you,  the  fairest 
and  wisest  of  all  earthly  women ;  and  you 
guide  me  to  victory,  you  instruct  me  in  war- 
fare, and  you  seek  my  love,  which  I  cannot 
give  you.  Oh,  the  marvellous  wonder  of  all 
this ! " 

"  Speak  on  ! "  said  the  woman  who  had 
been  called  witch  ;  "  speak  on  !  For  never, 
in  countless  aeons  of  ages,  may  such  knowl- 
edge be  given  to  you  or  to  me  again." 

"Guatamozin  and  his  land  have  faded  from 


THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH.  22$ 

my  vision,"  said  the  wraith ;  "  but  in  their 
stead  I  see  another  fair  land — a  land  of  sun- 
shine and  flowers,  of  bright  mountains  and 
clear  streams.  The  land  is  Spain,  and  there 
I  see  a  man  and  a  woman.  The  man  is 
named  Ransoval,  and  the  woman  is  yourself. 
You  love  him,  and  he  loves  you  more  than 
ever  woman  was  loved.  I  seem  to  see — O 
witch,  let  me  cease  !  Let  me  go,  for  I  fear  to 
learn  more  of  this  terrible  truth." 

"  Speak  on,"  said  the  woman,  with  lips  as 
ashen  as  the  lips  of  the  dead ;  "  speak  on ! 
Were  you  Ransoval  ? " 

"I — I  was  Ransoval,"  said  the  Indian 
speaking  in  a  voice  of  awe.  "  I  was  Ransoval, 
and  you  were  my  bride,  my  other  self — the 
best  part  of  all  the  world  to  me.  You  it  was 
who  should  have  been  my  queen  when  I 
half  conquered  the  world  ;  you  it  was  who 
should  have  reigned  with  me,  and  won 
with  me,  in  the  valley  of  lost  Anahuac ;  you 
it  was  who  should  have  been  my  bride  when 
I  was  a  wild  Indian  in  the  forest.  No,  it 
was  Zeetah,  the  Indian  maiden,  who  was 
my  bride  then !  O  witch,  queen, — let  us 
cease  from  our  quest  of  this  horrible  knowl- 
edge." 

The  witch  had  risen  and  was  standing  so 


226  THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH. 

close  to  the  wraith  that  she  could  look  into 
its  very  eyes. 

"  Speak  on,"  she  said. 

She  was  like  a  beautiful  vision.  Her  white 
bosom  gleamed  in  the  dim  light,  her  eyes 
sparkled  like  twin  stars,  and  her  long  black 
hair  had  become  unbound  and  fell  in  great 
profusion  over  her  shoulders. 

"  I  see, — yea,  I  see  much  of  my  life  when  I 
was  Ransoval  the  soldier  of  fortune.  But  of 
that  I  will  speak  no  farther,  for  there  is  in  that 
life  a  mystery  that  I  cannot  understand  when  I 
remember  the  life  I  lived  as  a  chief  in  the  for- 
est. How  could  I  have  loved  you  so  then, 
when  I  so  love  Zeetah  now  ?  But  I  see  be- 
yond that  life ;  I  see  a  life  that  was  lived 
in  a  great  land  of  the  east — in  a  land  beloved 
of  the  sun  ;  a  land  of  wealth  and  wisdom. 
And  in  that  land  I  see  you,  and  you  are — no  ! 
I  will  not  speak  the  name  you  were  then 
known  by  to  men." 

The  Indian  bent  his  gaze  upon  the  woman, 
who  stood,  clothed  in  her  unearthly  beauty, 
before  him. 

"  O  woman,  witch,  queen,  empress !  "  he 
said.  "  In  years  that  have  not  long  been  gone 
I  regarded  you  as  the  wisest  and  greatest 
woman  upon  the  earth ;  but  you  were  as 


THE   VISION  OF  THE  WITCH.  227 

naught  to  what  you  were  in  that  old  time  when 
the  world  was  young,  and  you  ruled  next  to 
Heaven  itself.  And  in  that  time  I  was  the 
one  man  on  the  face  of  the  earth  who  had 
your  love.  Your  kisses  and  your  embraces 
were  sometimes  bestowed  upon  others  ;  but, 
in  your  heart,  I  ruled  alone." 

"  In  that  life  was  I " 

"  Stop  !  "  said  the  Indian.  "  Who  you  were 
I  will  not  tell  you.  You  are  already  so  wise 
that  you  are  the  most  miserable  person  who 
lives  in  all  the  world.  I  will  tell  you  no  more." 

"  Will  you  not  tell  me  what  I  might  have 
been  if  I  had  not  killed  you  when  you  were 
Ransoval  ? " 

"  I  will  tell  you,  because  of  the  great  love 
I  once  bore  for  you.  Listen  :  If  you  had  not 
killed  me,  you  and  I  would  have  been  born 
upon  the  earth  again  as  Guatamozin,  and  his 
queen,  and  we  would  have  saved  the  Aztec 
Empire,  and  made  it  one  of  the  wonders  of  the 
world ;  then  we  would  have  died  and  in  time 
been  born  again  as — as  a  great  ruler  and  his 
empress.  We  would  have  conquered  the 
world  and  all  of  its  many  lands  and  peoples, 
and  we  would  have  ruled  the  world  in  love 
and  charity  and  wisdom.  I  ruled  part  of  the 
world,  but  I  ruled  with  an  iron  hand,  and  in 


22g  THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH. 

wickedness  and  bitterness  of  heart,  which  was 
because  I  yearned  for  a  beloved  queen,  and 
had  only  unloved  ones." 

"  When  the  curse  was  put  upon  me,"  said 
the  woman,  "  it  was  said  that  I  should  live 
until  you  had  been  freed  from  Purgatory. 
Have  you  not  been  so  freed  for  many  years  ? " 

"  He  who  dwells  upon  the  earth  dwells  in 
Purgatory,"  said  the  wraith,  sententiously. 

"What  will  the  future  bring  forth  for  you 
and  me  ? "  asked  the  witch.  As  she  spoke 
she  trembled  like  one  with  palsy. 

"  Of  the  future  I  know  not,"  said  the  Indian. 
"  Yet  stop !  The  future  is  unrolling  to  my 
gaze  as  the  past  has  done.  I  see  the  time 
that  I  shall  continue  to  live  in  the  land  of 
spirits,  happy  in  the  quiet  love  of  Zeetah,  my 
wife.  Then  there  shall  come  a  time,  many 
centuries  from  now,  when  the  sons  of  men  will 
become  altogether  tainted  with  corruption,  and 
they  will  lie  and  do  evil  all  the  days  of  their 
lives.  Then  I  shall  die  from  the  life  I  now  live, 
and  Zeetah  shall  die,  and  we  shall  both  be 
born  again.  And  we  will  conquer  the  world, 
and  Zeetah  will  be  my  queen — as  you  would 
have  been  but  for  yourself ;  and  we  will  re- 
deem the  world  to  honor  and  truth.  And 
for  you,  I  see — I  see " 


THE  VISION  OF  THE  WITCH.  22O 

The  voice  fell  to  a  whisper ;  it  quavered ; 
it  stopped.  And  when  the  dazed  listeners 
looked  to  learn  the  cause,  the  tent  was  empty 
save  for  the  three  who  had  been  there  at  first. 
The  witch  was  on  the  floor,  face  down,  her 
head  between  her  hands ;  the  negro  was  half 
dead  with  fear,  and  was  so  weak  he  could  not 
move.  The  traveller  felt  as  though  all  the 
blood  in  his  body  had  frozen,  and  that  all  his 
faculties  were  gone  except  those  that  enabled 
him  to  hear  and  see. 

The  traveller  did  not  think  he  slept,  but  the 
night  passed  somehow,  and  in  the  morning  he 
awoke  seemingly  from  a  sort  of  stupor.  He 
found  himself  lying  alone  in  the  adobe  corral 
at  Antelope  Springs ;  his  head  was  pillowed 
on  his  saddle,  while  his  horse  grazed  near 
him,  and  occasionally  whinnied  for  water. 


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